India tops charts as Malaysia’s biggest buyer of oil palm seeds

India has emerged as the leading importer of germinated oil palm seeds from Malaysia, as it ramps up domestic cultivation in a strategic move to reduce reliance on palm oil imports.

Published on:

29 Jul 2025, 6:09 am

There has been a noticeable increase in demand for Malaysian oil palm seeds, particularly from India

Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir, Director General of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), in a statement to PTI.

In 2024, India imported 3.03 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia, accounting for 17.9% of the Southeast Asian nation's total palm oil exports.

India’s rising demand is driven by its national initiative to expand domestic palm oil production — a key step toward reducing the country’s dependency on imports, which currently fulfills the bulk of its edible oil requirements.