The branded ghee and cooking oil manufacturers have raised prices by up to Rs100 per kg/litre, despite a bearish trend in palm oil import.

Retailers report that the price of branded ghee and cooking oil has increased by Rs80 per kg/litre to Rs570, with some premium brands raising prices by up to Rs100 per kg/litre.

Sheikh Umer Rehan, Chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), explained that although global palm oil prices had initially surged to $1,285 per tonne, they later settled at $1,185, bringing down the palm oil rate in the local market from Rs19,000 per maund to Rs16,500.

This drop caused small and medium-sized producers, who hold a major market share, to reduce prices by Rs40 per kg/litre.

However, branded products, which constitute about 5% of the market share, are slower to adjust due to the costs associated with packaging, distribution, and marketing. Rehan assured that branded ghee and oil prices would also gradually decrease.

Pakistan imports 90 percent of its palm oil from Indonesia and 10 percent from Malaysia, with annual consumption of around 5 million tonnes of ghee and cooking oil.

During the first five months of FY24, Pakistan imported 1.319 million tonnes of palm oil worth $1.26 billion, a slight increase from the previous year.

To further ease costs, the PVMA has requested the Malaysian government to reduce its export duty on palm oil to Pakistan.

Rehan stressed that a lower duty would enhance palm oil imports and improve the business climate under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The Malaysian Consul General, Herman Hardynata bin Ahmed, assured the PVMA delegation that Malaysia would review their proposals and explore opportunities for collaboration, including palm oil plantation projects in Sindh.

Source: Dawn News