Pakistan's palm oil imports, after languishing in the first week of August, are expected to rise in coming weeks ahead of a jump in consumption during the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan, dealers said on Wednesday.
"Generally demand stays high in Ramazan and I expect imports will also rise," said Akbar Puri, an importer at a palm oil brokerage firm.
Pakistanis eat more oily food during Ramazan, which will begin in the second week of October.
Dealers said importers were cautiously looking at Malaysian prices, but current levels were attractive as prices in the domestic market are gradually firming.
"Prices are at firm levels and movements either way in the international market are not affecting the domestic market much," another dealer said.
He said the market was expecting an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes in edible oil imports on a weekly basis in September.
"Traders are placing orders for September shipments to cover their position for Ramazan demand," the dealer said.
Local palm oil stocks stood at around 90,000 tonnes - enough to meet domestic demand for around one month.
Palm olein prices were unchanged from last week at 1,645 rupees per maund (37.32 kg).
Pakistan imports about 800,000 tonnes of oilseeds and about 1.3 million tonnes of edible oil products annually, led by palm oil and palm olein. The country's annual domestic demand is 1.9 million tonnes.
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