India Increases Base Import Prices for Palm Oil, Leaving Gold Prices Unaltered

India significantly raised the base import charges for crude, refined, palm oil, and crude soya oil, due to an increase in the prices in the global market; as a result, India, one of the biggest importers of edible oils, has raised crude palm oil import price to $952 per ton from $858, while simultaneously increasing the prices of crude soya oil to $1345 per ton from $1274 a ton.

The base price for RBD palm oil and RBD palmolien, according to the official statement, now stands at $962 and 971 a ton, up from a measly $905 and $934, respectively. The nation tweaks its base import prices of edible oils, gold, and silver every fortnight, and the prices are used to calculate the amount of tax an importer would have to pay.

The base price for silver was also raised to $630 per kg from $629 per kg, while gold rates remained the same. Over the years, India has also become the world's biggest importer of silver and the second-biggest consumer of gold.

From a continental perspective, Asian countries import the highest dollar worth of palm oil, with the value of purchases pegged at $29.6 billion or almost three–fifths of the global trade. In second place were European Importers at 20.9%, while 13.3% of palm oil imported worldwide went to Africa.

Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (4.5%) and Latin America (2.5%), excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean and Oceania, led by Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zeeland.

Below are the countries that spent the most on palm oil imports during 2021.

1. India US$ 9.6 billion (18.9% of the total oil imports)

2. China $45.9 billion (11.7%)

3. Pakistan $3.4 billion (6.7%)

4. Netherlands $2.1 billion (4.1%)

5. United States $1.8 billion (3.6%)

6. Spain $1.53 billion (3%)

7. Italy $ 1.49 billion (2.9%)

8. Bangladesh $1.45 billion (2.9%)

9. Russia $1.3 billion (2.5%)

10. Malaysia $1.1 billion (2.3%)

11. Kenya $990.7 million (2%)

12. Vietnam $982.8 million (1.9%)

13. Egypt $957.8 million (1.9%)

14. Ethiopia $883.1 million (1.7%)

15. Myanmar $869.6 million (1.7%)

Among the list of countries, Ethiopia and India were two of the fastest-growing markets for palm oil since 2020 (data from 2021), both showcasing a 108.25 % increase and 86.9 % increase, respectively. As of now, the prices have been raised because of an all-over increase in the overall global market, but since India has been a prime importer of palm oils and other similar commodities hence the rise in prices would significantly impact the markets. Furthermore, an increase in silver base prices would also impact the markets as India is a prominent exporter of its silver jewelry produce to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. India has been one of the largest exporters of silver jewelry and accounts for about 224,071 shipments. How these changes impact the market would be a detail that would get much clearer in the future.

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