May 8, 2002	Wednesday	Safar 24, 1423

KARACHI, May 7: Palm oil prices in Pakistan remained firm during the past week on buoyant local demand, with traders looking to boost stocks on reports of falling palm oil production in Malaysia, dealers said on Tuesday.

The traditional drop in Malaysian palm oil output in April, combined with intensive buying from China and India, had prompted some major players to take strong forward positions, they said.

“Reports from Malaysia suggest that palm oil output dropped by over 30,000 tons during April...this will support the buying in coming weeks,” said a palm oil importer in Karachi.

Leading private forecaster Ivan Wong has put Malaysia’s April output at 860,000-865,000 tons, down from the official forecast of 892,629 tons in March.

Dealers said steady buying by India, the world’s largest edible oil importer, had helped firm international prices and that also encouraged importers to book orders.

India, which is suffering from a seasonal decline in oilseed supplies, was expected to import 450,000 tons of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia in May, about the same as in April.

Another dealer in Karachi said locally held stocks had shrunk due to fewer imports last month, when around 56,000 tons of palm oil were imported.

Pakistan normally buys 80,000 tons of palm oil a month from Malaysia, but weak domestic prices for edible oils in April hit imports.

Pakistani dealers on Tuesday quoted palm oil on the local market at 1,395 rupees per maund (37.32 kg).

“The market anticipates an increase of over 30,000 tons in palm oil imports during May,” one dealer said, adding prices would remain stable in coming weeks as local stocks ran down.

Pakistan annually imports about 1.3 million tons of edible oil products, led by palm oil, mostly from Malaysia, to meet a domestic demand of 1.9 million tons.—Reuters