Market participants have contracted more than 150,000 tonnes per month of soyabean oil for the period, according to Aashish Acharya, Vice President at Patanjali Foods, one of India's largest vegetable oil purchasers. The purchases were supported by soyabean oil trading at an average discount of US$20–30 per tonne to palm oil during those months—a reversal of the usual premium.
"This is a considerably huge coverage in the forward months as the market is sensing palm shortages next year due to lesser production and more usage when B50 in Indonesia is rolled out," said Mayur Toshniwal, President and Head of Trading at Emami Agrotech.
Budiman Suwardi, Head of Treasury and Markets at Prime EcoHarvest Commodities, confirmed that Indian refiners have been actively hedging in advance of Indonesia's planned B50 biodiesel mandate, which is expected to increase domestic palm oil consumption and reduce export availability from the second half of 2026. "If Indonesia's government suddenly pushed for the B50 to be implemented in the second half of next year, it might push palm prices higher due to lack of supply for exports," he said.
Additional support for forward soyabean oil buying comes from concerns over tighter sunflower oil supplies. Reduced crop prospects in the Black Sea region and Europe have driven Black Sea sunflower oil prices US$230–250 per tonne above South American soyabean oil for the same delivery window, according to Acharya.
Despite the forward shift toward soyabean oil, palm oil currently remains approximately US$90–100 per tonne cheaper in the spot market, encouraging continued near-term purchases of palm by cost-conscious Indian importers. The combination of attractive forward pricing and expected supply constraints in competing oils has prompted refiners to lock in significant soyabean oil coverage well ahead of the usual buying cycle.
