PEOC – A vehicle for increased recognition of edible oil industry of Pakistan

Pakistan Edible Oil Conference (PEOC) has now become a regular feature and a great name in the calendar of organizing Edible Oil Conferences all over the World. It indeed gives me great satisfaction being part of the Organizing Committee for holding 6th PEOC on 12th & 13th January 2024.

Pakistan Edible Oil Industry has seen enormous growth in the last one decade and now we are importing around 3.00 million tons of Edible Oils per annum which makes us the third largest importer of Edible Oils after China and India. While Pakistan remains a very important market for the import of Edible Oils, we were lacking due recognition. I am indeed glad to point out that PEOC has given due recognition to the Pakistan Market which we truly deserve.

Our logistics to import Edible Oils are best in the region as not only we have dedicated Edible Oil Jetty to handle Edible Oil tankers at Port Qasim, we also have storage capacity of handling around 500,000 M. tons of Edible Oils at Pakistan Ports. Our Ports namely Karachi Port and Port Qasim are extremely efficient and we can compare these ports with any ports of the World.

The integrity ratio of doing Edible Oil business in Pakistan is excellent and we have a great image in the Global markets. All these positive attributes needed to be highlighted and PEOC provides us the platform to highlight these attributes.

The Edible Oil Industry in Pakistan has now embarked on creating value addition by putting up Continuous Refining Plants which not only gives us best quality but also bring Pakistan into the map of Continuous Refining. The Edible Oil Industry has also embarked in promoting branded oil and we now have several brands that not only produce excellent quality but also have gained a great image for the Country.

Pakistan is also striving hard to increase indigenous production as currently our import dependence is almost 95% of our total requirement. The current government has now associated the private sector in corporate farming to cultivate oil seeds to boost our local production.

PEOC will always remain indebted to our supporting organizations like Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (GAPKI) Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA) who are not only supporting PEOC but also help us to recognize the significance of Pakistan market.

I am extremely grateful to Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), All Pakistan Solvent Extractors' Association (APSEA), Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association (PEORA) and Pakistan Soap Manufacturers Association (PSMA) as the stakeholders of PEOC and their continuous support.

The participation from our esteemed suppliers of Edible Oils & Oilseeds from all over the world is a great boost to PEOC and it signifies the importance of Pakistan Market.

Last but not the least, credit goes to all our foreign Speakers who come all the way to give their valuable / informative presentations which helps our Industry to understand the global markets and take their decisions accordingly for their Industries.

I wish the Pakistan Edible Oil Conference (PEOC) to keep on growing year by year and continue to allow Pakistan to be recognized and appreciated on the global map.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024