27/02/2008 (The News - International, Pakistan), Kuala Lumpur - Pakistan is looking to buy around 200,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia for April and May shipments, a top industry official said on Tuesday.

“We are more or less covered for March, but we are still looking for cargoes for April and May shipments,” Rasheed Janmohammad, vice chairman of the Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association, told Reuters in an interview.

The South Asian nation, which has increased palm oil purchases in recent years, is expected to buy more crude palm oil because of expanding domestic refining capacity.Pakistan’s crude palm oil output is likely to rise to 650,000 tonnes in 2008 from 500,000 a year ago.

“The main reason is refining capacity which is at the moment at 4,000 tonnes per day and is expected to go up to 5,000 tonnes by June 2008,” Janmohammad said on the sidelines of a global palm oil conference organised by Bursa Malaysia. The official earlier said Pakistan had bought around 4,000 tonnes of RBD palm olein at $1,335 per tonne for delivery in March and April.

Pakistan annually consumes around 3 million tonnes of edible oil and domestic output is between 500,000 and 600,000 tonnes. The remaining demand is met through imported oils and oilseeds.

Strong demand from India and China amid a possible supply squeeze in coming months is keeping palm oil prices buoyant, with gains this year at more than 25pc. On Monday, the market surged nearly 6 per cent to a new high of 3,914 ringgit, the biggest absolute rise in a single day.

The benchmark May crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 42 ringgit at 3,824 ringgit ($1,190) a tonne by the midday break. The official said Pakistan’s sunflower seed production is expected to double to nearly 200,000 tonnes this year on the back of a higher sowing area.