July 10, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 9,1424

ISLAMABAD, July 9: The local palm oil market was slow in the last week and importers were reluctant to place fresh orders given high international prices and higher stocks locally, dealers said on Wednesday.

“There is some buying interest in the market but importers are hesitant to place fresh orders because of high international prices,” said Pervez Aminuddin, a palm oil dealer in the southern port city of Karachi.

Aminuddin said imports were likely to remain slow in the coming weeks as most traders had covered stock positions and ample stocks were available in the market.

“The importers want international prices to settle before booking fresh orders.”

Another dealer said importers had booked around 60,000-65,000 tons of palm olein and palm oil for July and cargoes will reach Karachi mid-month.

He said local traders had more than 70,000 tons of unsold stock to meet domestic demand in the short term, and the market over the coming days looked mixed.

“They will only place fresh orders when prices settle at a lower levels, and I don’t see much activity in the coming weeks,” he added.

Local dealers on Wednesday quoted palm oil on the local market at Rs1,705 per maund, up Rs10 from the previous week.

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