MUMBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - India’s vegetable oil imports may rise over 12 percent to touch 6.5 million tonnes in the financial year 2008/09, as domestic consumption remains steady even at higher prices, a senior industry official said on Thursday.

“India may import 6.5 million tonnes in 2008/09,” said Dorab Mistry, a top edible oil industry analyst, who handles vegetable oil buying and trading for Indian firm Godrej.

Mistry said India imported about 5.8 million tonnes of oil in the year ending March 2008.

India annually consumes about 13 million tonnes of vegetable oils and imports about 40 percent of its annual requirement in the form of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.

Prices of both the edible oils have risen sharply in last one year to touch new highs tracking a spike in crude oil prices, squeeze in supplies and rising demand.

Despite higher prices the consumption of vegetable oils is either stagnant or slightly above average in India, Mistry said.

“Demand destruction is not taking place at all and supply is under some pressure… So the only way is for the prices to go up,” Mistry said. He forecasts palm oil prices to rise between 3,800 ringgit and 4,000 ringgit per tonne by end-June.

He reiterated that the prices may touch as high as 4,500 ringgit between September 2008 and February 2009. (Reporting by Abhishek Shanker; editing by Sunil Nair)

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