Economic Desk
Demand for palm oil in Pakistan’s has been increasing at a rate of 4.5% per annum for the past seven years, said Malaysian Minister for Primary Industries Teresa Kok Suh Sim.
Speaking at the Fifth Pakistan Edible Oil Conference recently held in the port city of Karachi , she said that demand of the commodity was growing in Pakistan on back of rising population, higher incomes and increased consumer spending.
“Palm oil has the potential for even higher uptake in the Pakistani market because the country’s local production of oils and fats covers only around 20% of its total consumption needs,” she said. “Thus, Pakistan depends heavily on import of the product to meet growing domestic demand.”
Highlighting the importance of Pakistan as an end user of Malaysian palm oil, Sim termed the country one of the most regular and dependable buyers of the product.
The minister pointed out that Pakistan was among the first export destinations where Malaysia had major investments in areas of bulking installations and refineries besides having liquid cargo jetty dedicated for handling of palm oil.
Malaysian companies such as FGV Holdings Berhad, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad and IOI Group have made significant investment in Pakistan via joint ventures with the Westbury Group since 1993.
Palm oil is widely used by the industry for manufacturing vanaspati (ghee). On the other hand, it is also used by the food industry in Pakistan for frying.
