06/08/2026 (Oils & Fats International) - Palm oil shipments to Pakistan reached a record volume of 3.482M tonnes in 2026 – worth US$3.785bn – compared to 3.214M tonnes the previous year, Business DAWN reported citing Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.

The average price of palm oil imports/tonne in 2026 was US$1,078, compared to $1,056 in 2025, the 29 July report said.

According to Umer Rehan, chairman of Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), the increase in palm oil imports was due to rising demand for ghee and cooking oil as a result of population growth and lower crops such as cottonseed.

Domestic annual edible oil consumption had increased from 4M tonnes five years earlier to 4.8M tonnes, Rehan said.

Despite the growth in demand, no domestic edible oil policy had been made since independence, he added.

The PVMA had previously urged the government to cut taxes for the edible oil and ghee sector in the budget to ease the public burden, Business DAWN wrote.

https://www.ofimagazine.com/news/pakistan-imports-record-volume-of-palm-oil