Palm oil imports top $522 mln in eight months

Myanmar brought in US$522 million worth of palm oil in the past eight months (October-May) of the current financial year 2020-2021, according to the Myanmar Customs Department.
The palm oil ranges around 3,600 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kg) in the domestic wholesale market at the present time.
“The oil palm plants produce fruits in abundance this time. The price is likely to be in the bull market up to October if any trade barrier will not occur,” Chair U San Lin of Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association said.
“Normally, oil palm plants are plentiful in Malaysia this time. They produce the fruits from June to October,” he added.
Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association is attempting to maintain price stability, prevent market manipulation, import the palm oil from foreign countries sustainably for self-sufficiency, distribute the edible oil at a fair price to the consumers and ensure that there will be no edible oil shortage in regions and states when there is a rise in imported oil prices.
In early January 2021, production slump in importing countries Malaysia and Indonesia, caused by erratic weather conditions and the COVID-19 impacts, high imports by certain countries under tax reduction, a tax hike on exports in producing countries and the short storage of palm oil in those countries contributed to the rise in edible oil price. The palm oil price stood at $1,055-1,200 per tonne in the foreign market then.
Malaysia’s palm oil fell below $1,106 per tonne in mid-August from a high of $1,066 per tonne last month.
The domestic consumption of edible oil is estimated at 1 million tonnes per year. The local cooking oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. To meet the self-sufficiency in the domestic market, about 700,000 tonnes of cooking oil are yearly imported. — Ko Htet/GNLM