23/10/2007 (Commodity Online), Mumbai - Change is in the air for the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd’s (Nafed) ways of buying crude palm oil from the global market.

In a recent move, the Nafed has decided to explore opportunities on a daily basis to buy crude palm oil in the international market.
This decision is set to make waves in the global palm oil market.

According to Nafed officials, it will enter into import contracts on a commercial basis. The government will not subsidise Nafed’s commercial operations. Again, there will be no tenders and purchase decisions will be made on the basis of rates quoted.

As for the quantum of imports, there was no predetermined quantity. If the imports are viable to Nafed, it may import more than 15,000 tonnes. Recently, Nafed scrapped a tender for import of 15,000 tonnes of CPO as there was only one bidder. The agency has now changed its buying system.