|
KARACHI, Nov 17 (Reuters): Pakistan edible-oil trade has been slow in the past week and a downtrend in world prices could keep the market under pressure, traders said yesterday.
Weak international prices and overbought positions among big importers led to thin buying interest, with most traders waiting for the global market to take a clear direction, they added.
"The buying interest is very low and imports are likely to slow down further this week," said Anas Haroon, a Karachi-based dealer.
Traders had enough stock to meet demand until the first week of December and buying activity would only pick up when the international market was stable, he added.
"The market has stocks of over 100,000 tonnes, while another 30,000 tonnes of supplies are in transit," Haroon said.
Another dealer said major importers had booked orders until December and were unlikely to make fresh purchases this month.
He added that the increased supply of other edible oils, including locally produced cottonseed and U.S.-donated soybeans, had also helped slow palm-oil imports.
Pakistan imports about 1.3 million tonnes of edible-oil products a year, mostly Malaysian palm oil and olein, to meet domestic demand of 1.9 million tonnes. Locally produced cottonseed meets the rest of the demand.
|