Pakistan's edible oil market was mixed during the past week as imports stayed slow on low domestic demand that had kept prices stable, dealers said on Wednesday.
Pakistani importers would remain cautious buyers of Malaysian palm oil during the next weeks amid uncertainty about world prices and relatively low domestic demand, they said.
"The market will continue to follow a mixed trend as importers are hesitant to book big orders on soft international market," said Anas Haroon, a Karachi-based dealer.
He said importers had booked few orders for RBD (refined, bleached and deodorised) palm olein as demand was on the rise in the domestic market because of attractive prices and low local duties as compared with RBD palm oil.
Dealers said domestic demand was expected to rise in October when the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan begins.
Ramazan, starting in the second week of October, is a period of high consumption of oils in Pakistan as people breaking their daily dawn-to-dusk fasts traditionally eat fried foods.
Dealers estimate that about 100,000 tonnes of palm oil and palm olein were available in the local market to meet demand during August and September.
Pakistan imports about 1.3 million tonnes of edible oil products a year, mostly Malaysian palm oil and olein, to meet domestic demand of 1.9 million tonnes.
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