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India’s decision to cut import tariffs on Indonesian palm oil may increase the latter’s oil imports to cross the 5-million-tonne-mark, said an Indonesia industry official.

India, the world’s largest importer and consumer of edible oils, imported 4.8 million tonnes of palm oil from Indonesia in 2024 from 6 million tonnes in 2023. Indonesia remains the world’s top palm oil producer. 

India is ramping up palm seed imports as part of its National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), which aims to expand cultivation from the current 350,000 hectares to 1 million hectares by 2025-26.

 

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Indonesia shipped 100,000 germinated palm seeds to India this year to support its mission, informed Eddy Martono, chairman of Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA), as against 500,000 seeds shipped in 2023 and 2024 combined.

“After the decrease in import tariffs, Indonesia palm oil imports will increase in 2025. I expect it to be more than 5 million tonnes,” he said.

Basic customs duty on crude palm oil was lowered by India from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, as part of efforts to boost domestic edible oil availability and control prices.

Palm oil prices have traded below soybean oil since April 2025, improving competitiveness, which was seconded by Martono, who said “there is no problem with the price this year”.

He added that Indonesia supports palm seed exports to India through business-to-business arrangements and can also provide technical guidance, given its experience in palm cultivation.

IPOA and the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance collaboration in the palm oil sector. “India is a very important market for Indonesia. Hope to see stable exports to India after the MoU,” Martono said.

The partnership also aims to address consumer concerns about palm oil's health impacts in India.

“Consumers in India still have misconceptions about Indonesian palm oil. Palm oil is very healthy oil,” Martono said, adding that IPOA is collaborating with IVPA to counter negative campaigns about Indonesian palm oil.