KARACHI: Pakistan’s southeastern Sindh province has successfully completed a pilot oil palm cultivation and extraction project, putting the country on the list of palm oil producers. An oil extraction facility at the site of the pilot oil palm plantation in the province’s southern Thatta district produced its first oil last week.
Is palm oil a burden for Pakistan?
Thus, palm oil can be a burden for Pakistan if imported without intervention on an international level and can be a breather if the crude palm is imported and utilized effectively to meet the edible oil requirements until Pakistan becomes self-sufficient in oilseed production and solvent extraction.
How much palm oil does Pakistan import a year?
According FY2020-2021(WeBOC), Pakistan imported 3.5 million tons of palm oil including refined oil and crude oil. Approx. 190 thousand tons of crude oil and 3.3 million tons of refined oil were imported. Pakistan currently has the capacity to refine 1.5 million tons of crude palm oil annually.
Should Pakistan replace refined palm oil with crude oil?
Pakistan can save a tremendous amount of import bills if it replaces refined palm oil with crude oil as Pakistan is currently capable of refining 1.5 million tons of crude oil annually. Malaysia has 8 percent export duty while Indonesia has 14 percent export duty on crude oil.
Does Pakistan import palm oil from Indonesia?
Pakistan imports 75 percent of palm oil products from Indonesia under the Preferential Trade Agreement, whereas it imports 25 percent of palm oil products from Malaysia under the Free Trade Agreement. Despite these agreements, Pakistan faces high export duties on crude palm oil and increasing prices of refined palm oil.
How much crude oil does Pakistan Eat?
Pakistan is capable of consuming 1.5 million tons of crude oil but only a thousand tons were imported in 2020. The crude will not only produce refined palm oil but will also produce palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and palm stearin which are major imports of Pakistan.