New Delhi
Colombiacould become an alternative palm oil supplier for India as top producers Indonesia and Malaysia step up biodiesel blending, which threatens to restrict supplies for food use, the edible oil trade body said on Wednesday.
"Colombia, the world's fourth-largest palm oil producer, offers promising opportunities for deeper trade engagement," Angshu Mallick, president of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), said in a statement.
Colombia has supplied about 2,00,000 tonnes of palm oil to India in the recent past, Mallick said, adding that the country could help broaden India's sourcing base. India is the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils.
SEA plans to send a high-level delegation to Colombia early next year. It also expects to sign a memorandum of understanding with Fedepalma, Colombia's national federation of oil palm growers, to provide a framework for closer engagement.
The association has also signed a statement of interest with the government of Mozambique's Nampula province to explore a sustainable oilseed and vegetable oil trade corridor with India, Mallick said.
"The vegetable oil and oilseed sector is navigating a changing global environment shaped by biofuel policies, shifting trade flows, price volatility and growing demand," he said, calling for diversified sourcing, higher domestic oilseed output and more value addition within India.
Mallick also welcomed the government's higher minimum support prices (MSP) for the 2027-28 rabi marketing season, which he said offered a chance to boost mustard production. The MSP for rapeseed and mustard was raised by Rs 413 per quintal to Rs 6,613, while that of Safflower by Rs 675 to Rs 7215 per quintal for 2027-28 marketing season.
However, Mallick said the effectiveness of the support would depend on procurement arrangements, market access and the prices farmers actually realise. India's edible oil imports totalled 15.16 million tonnes in the first 11 months of the 2025-26 marketing year that began in November, according to SEA data