KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 (Bernama) — Pakistan hopes Malaysia will increase the quota for crude palm oil exports to the country to meet rising domestic demand.

Pakistan Oil Refiners’ Association vice-chairman Abdul Rasheed Janmohammad said currently Pakistan was importing about 1.8 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO) from Indonesia and Malaysia, of which 65 percent was from Malaysia.

He hoped Malaysian CPO export to Pakistan would be increased to 80 percent.

“The demand mostly comes from our local refining industry. We have developed palm oil refineries in Pakistan over the last three years which are operating at 5,000-tonne capacity a day,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Second International Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar 2008.

Earlier, Janmohammad presented a working paper entitled “Pakistan Oils & Fat Business: Market Expectations and Anticipations”, which touched on the country’s edible oil market and factors affecting prices in the market.

The Islamic state, with a population of 164 million, was dependent on edible oil imports to meet local demand, with a total consumption of three million tonnes.

Janmohammad said the demand for palm oil had surged due to falling CPO prices and to stock up for the upcoming Ramadan fasting month.

“We have had discussions with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board on the matter. This is one of the issues we highlighted,” he said.

On CPO prices, he said, the price would be between RM2,400 and RM2,700 a tonne for the rest of the year if crude oil price hovers between US$100 and US$110 per barrel.

However, if crude oil does not come down and remain in the range of US$120 and US$130 a barrel, the CPO price would likely be between RM2,700 and RM3,000 per tonne, he added.

– BERNAMA

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