KARACHI, Sept 2: Pakistan’s palm oil prices were stable on the back of good local demand and dealers said on Tuesday that they expected more imports as traders build up their stocks before Ramazan.

They added that prices were expected to increase in coming days as Ramazan, a high consumption period for edible oils in Pakistan, was fast approaching.

“Traders are making forward deals to build up stocks for Ramazan demand,” said Zia Ahmad, a palm oil dealer in Karachi. He said prices were hovering on the higher side in the domestic market.

Dealers said local traders had enough stocks to meet demand until the third week of September and around 75,000 tons of unsold stocks were still with traders.

“But Ramazan is the key factor behind most of the forward buying,” Mr Ahmad added. He said importers would book another 100,000 to 120,000 tons of palm oil to meet Ramazan demand.

Another dealer said export figures released by Malaysian cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) on Tuesday showed more buying interest from palm oil importers.

Malaysian palm oil exports for August stood at 1,246,802 tons, up from 1,120,671 tons for July, said the SGS.

“Importers have already imported at least 100,000 tons of palm oil in August and I am expecting some more aggressive buying before Ramazan,” a dealer in Karachi said.—Reuters