ISLAMABAD: The prices of edible oil are expected to reduce in the country as prices have started easing in the international markets amid harvest of fresh oil palm crops in major oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
An importer while speaking to Profit claimed that the rates would settle at around $750 per tonne by end of June or early July, eventually easing the local markets too. However, sources in the oil retail market claim that things would be clear after the budget is announced on June 11 as the price of the commodity may be affected despite slashes in the international market in case new taxes are introduced.
Wholesale markets in Karachi and Lahore are rife with rumours that the government is likely to introduce Additional Customs Duty on the import of palm oil and palm olein.
Currently, per kilogramme and per liter price of branded ghee and cooking oil range between Rs320 and Rs330, while unbranded oils cost between Rs270 and Rs320. However, prices are easing and the rate of cheapest unbranded ghee and oil has slipped by Rs10 per kg/litre in two weeks.
On the other hand, investors are also hoarding stocks ahead of the upcoming budget.
It is pertinent to mention here that apart from the reduction in price of oil in the international market, the supply chain of the item has also been improved after Ramzan, which could cause a reduction in the prices of the commodity in the domestic market.
“The average palm oil rate has reached $1,125 per tonne against the $1,250 around two weeks back,” Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) Chairman Abdul Waheed said.
“Local cotton seed, sunflower and mustard oil have arrived in the market; the high demand season of Ramzan is over and palm harvest is picking pace in South East Asia,” Waheed said.
He added that the consumption of ghee and oils is less in summer and as supply is improving which raise hope for rates to come down in the coming months.
PVMA statistics show that the average monthly consumption of ghee and oils in Pakistan was around 400,000 tonnes, while the production capacity of the organised sector was up to 350,000 tonnes, whereas the remaining is filled by locally grown oil seeds and unorganised sector.
The rates of palm oil had almost crashed to less than $550 per tonne in August 2020, due to the Covid -19 pandemic, when the global demand was very low as lockdowns suspended transportation and trading activities.
