Kandla Port's June move to add pipelines and berths resurfaces amid edible oil import congestion
Resurfacing a June 2025 initiative, Kandla Port deployed 14-inch pipelines and planned to handle edible oil at two additional berths, aiming to reduce vessel delays and support steadier imports for India’s edible oil supply chain.
The development
Kandla Port outlined new 14-inch pipelines and plans to handle edible oil at two additional berths to ease vessel congestion and support uninterrupted Indian edible oil imports.
The numbers
- 14-inch
- two
Why it matters to operators and investors
Kandla Port’s added edible-oil pipelines and berths should shorten vessel waits, improving import reliability and helping grocers and food manufacturers manage inventory and price volatility.
What to watch next
- Actual commissioning dates and operating utilization of the 14-inch pipelines and added berths.
- Average vessel waiting time, berth occupancy, and demurrage costs at Kandla for edible-oil cargoes.
- Monthly edible-oil import volumes through Kandla versus Mundra and other Indian ports.
- Wholesale and retail price spreads for palmolein, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and mustard oil.
- Changes in Indian edible-oil import duties, stock limits, or government price-containment measures.
The counter-case
Added pipelines and berths may relieve localized congestion without materially changing India’s edible-oil economics. Import costs and retail prices remain more exposed to global palm, soybean and sunflower oil prices, freight, exchange rates, tariffs, weather disruptions and exporting-country policies than to incremental Kandla capacity. New infrastructure can also take time to commission, face operational constraints, or shift congestion to storage tanks, rail, road and inland distribution.