SUKKUR, Sept 17 (Asia Pulse) - The Pakistan Oilseeds Development Board(PODB) in Sindh plans to import 100,000 seedlings of oil-palm fromMalaysia in the current year, in order to meet the growing demand in thecoastal districts of Thatta (Sindh) and Uthal (Balochistan).The PODB's director in Sindh, Waris Shaikh, said the board had a balancequantity of 37,518 plants and there was a demand for 71,000 plants inthese two districts.He said in addition to promoting the non-traditional oilseed crops in thecountry, the PODB was also concentrating on the introduction of oil-palmplantations in the coastal belt of Sindh and Balochistan, in collaborationwith the Malaysian government.The PODB director said there was a great potential for oil-palm sowing inthe coastal belt of Thatta, Badin, and Uthal.He said that in 1998-99, the PODB imported 135,000 oil-palm seedlings fromthe Malaysian Palm-oil Board, which are kept in two nurseries of Gharonear Thatta in Sindh and Uthal in Balochistan.He said both nurseries are in good condition. The plantation was made onprivate, public sector and state lands, he added.