Indonesia's plans to restrict palm oil exports are unlikely to create a shortage in India's main consumer market, where inventories have risen to a record high after aggressive imports in the past three months, industry officials said.

This is a stark contrast to last year, when a sudden change in Jakarta's export policies forced India to increase purchases from Malaysia, which at the time sold palm oil at record prices.

Last week, Indonesia said it will suspend some palm oil export permits to secure domestic supply as cooking oil prices rise ahead of the upcoming Islamic Ramadan festival.

Imports of edible oil from India in the first quarter of the 2022/23 trading year - which began On November 1 - increased 25 percent from a year earlier to about 4.5 million tons, traders said.

Imports raised inventories to a record 3.6 million tons on February 1, compared with 1.83 million tons a year earlier, they estimated. "Indonesia's restrictions are unlikely to create problems in India. Stock levels are comfortable," Ajay Jhunjhunwala, president of the India Solvent Extractors Association, told Reuters.

The harvest's crop supply for the new season, which is expected to be 10% to 15% higher than last year's record harvest, will gain momentum starting next month and increase the availability of edible oil, he added.

Indonesia's export restrictions are likely to be lifted after the month of Ramadan, which ends on April 21, said a Mumbai trader with a global trading house. "This year there is a different game. There is ample supply of sunflower oil, which was not flowing freely last year because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," the trader said.

Sunflower oil imports from India in January rose to a record 473,000 tons, almost triple average monthly imports as major exporters Russia and Ukraine seek to reduce inventories.

Palm oil buyers will again try to increase purchases from Malaysia, the world's second-largest exporter, but not at the same rate as last year, a Singapore anipending trader said.

Malaysian inventories at the end of January increased 3.26% from the previous month to 2.27 million tons. "Indonesian farmers suffered last year because of the export ban. This year, Indonesia will not completely ban exports, but will limit only for a few weeks," said the trader.