KARACHI (March 18 2004): Pakistan's palm oil market remained mixed to bullish over the past week but dealers said on Wednesday importers were reluctant to place big orders due to high international prices.

"The importers are cautiously placing orders as they want international prices to settle to a reasonable level," said Pervez Aminuddin, a dealer at the southern port city of Karachi.

He said a few importers were in the market to cover their positions but the market lacked aggressive buying as importers anticipate lower world prices in the weeks ahead.

Dealers said expected buying from Egypt had caused international prices to rise, but they would likely to slip back towards the end of the week.

Egypt's state Holding Company for Food Industries (HFCI) said it was seeking 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of Malaysian or Indonesian palm oil for second half April and/or first half May.

Zia Ahmed, another dealer, said the importers have booked a few orders for crude palm oil as its demand was on the rise in the domestic market because of attractive prices and low local duties as compared with RBD (refined, bleached and deodorised) palm oil.

Dealers said orders of around 40,000 tonnes of palm oil and palm olein had been booked during the current month, of which a good quantity had already arrived in the market.

About 80,000 tonnes of edible oil was currently available in the market, the dealers added.

Traders said palm olein prices in the local market remained stable. The commodity was quoted at 1,960 rupees per mound (37.32 kg) on Wednesday against 1,990 rupees a week ago.

Pakistan imports about 1.3 million tonnes of edible oil products annually, led by palm oil, mostly from Malaysia, to help meet domestic demand of 1.9 million tonnes.

Courtesy Business Recorder