During the 10 months of 2024, 1.8 million tons of goods were delivered.
Data from the "Agroexport" center indicates that Russia significantly increased the volume of sunflower oil exports to India. From January to October 2024, the amount of oil delivered was 1.8 million tons, which is twice as much as during the same period last year. India became the main importer, acquiring 43% of the total export volume. Turkey follows with a share of 15% and China with 13%.
India is the world's largest consumer of vegetable oils and covers over 70% of its demand through imports. Sunflower oil is supplied to the country from Russia, Argentina, and Ukraine. Over the past two years, Russia has been actively increasing its food supplies to India, where sunflower oil has become a key product. November 2024 saw increased demand for vegetable oils in the country due to manufacturers increasing purchases after the holiday season. Overall edible oil imports increased by 12%, with sunflower oil imports increasing by 43% to reach 341 thousand tons. In the current season, India plans to import around 3.4 million tons of sunflower oil, which is 3% less than the previous year. Russia and Argentina are strengthening their positions as the main suppliers amid crop issues in Ukraine. The Sunvin Group forecast shows that by 2030, vegetable oil consumption in India will increase by 3 million tons. According to the analytical center OleoScope, vegetable oil exports from January to October reached 6.3 million tons, which is 13% higher than the previous year. Sunflower oil made the main contribution to this growth, increasing by 30% and reaching 4.6 million tons, which accounts for over 70% of the total vegetable oil export volume. Due to growing global demand, in December 2024 the Ministry of Agriculture increased the export duty on sunflower oil to 9195.8 rubles per ton. This is 3.2 times higher than in November. In contrast, the duty was zero in December 2023.
The sharp increase in sunflower oil exports to India indicates that Russia is successfully strengthening its position in the global vegetable oils market. The Indian market continues to grow, creating favorable prospects for Russian exporters.