Palm oil shipments to Pakistan are set to triple in November due to UN-organised purchases to help Afghan refugees and ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, traders said on Wednesday.
Pakistan's palm oil imports, which may reach 220,000 tonnes this month, will be channeled to refugees fleeing US-led strikes in neighbouring Afghanistan and to meet domestic demand. Pakistan normally buys up to 80,000 tonnes of palm oil a month from the world's largest producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, but local consumption is set to jump to 110,000 tonnes during the Ramadan.
''You have almost 900,000 refugees in Lahore and Peshawar. The UN or the US don't want to starve these people,'' said one trader in Kuala Lumpur. ''The UN basically gives out local tenders to local traders in Pakistan,'' said the trader, adding the oil was purchased at $ 325-330 a tonne.
The US-led military campaign in Afghanistan has put thousands of refugees on the move and stoked fighting on the front lines between Taliban forces and the opposition Northern Alliance.
The United Nations, which fears up to 1.5 million Afghans could flee, has called for surrounding states -- Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- to admit people trying to escape starvation and the US-led bombing campaign. Traders said Malaysia was expected to ship some 160,000 tonnes of RBD palmolein and RBD palm oil to Pakistan in November. Around 120,000 tonnes of oil had been booked so far.
Shipments from Indonesia were set to reach 60,000 tonnes, in which 40,000 tonnes had been booked, they said.
Bureau Report