The prices of palm oil in the world market have further surged by $10 per ton, hitting $860 per ton mark in the wake of rising demand and low supply, traders said. They said that after two days' break, on Monday huge demand was witnessed from different countries, which spurred the price of palm oil.
On last Friday, international palm oil market closed at $850 per ton and, on Monday it reached new peak of $860 per ton. The daily rising prices of palm oil are creating serious problem of edible oil shortage in the country and the prices of ghee and edible oil might be further raised in near future, traders said. Edible oil and ghee prices are already at the highest level so far of around Rs 97 per kg.
Importers have stopped placing fresh import orders for palm oil, and said that they were closely monitoring the market and have adopted a wait and see policy.
The chief reason behind the soaring prices of palm oil products is the mounting demand in the world market, they said.
The reflection of the palm oil prices hike in the world market has been witnessed in the domestic market, as ghee manufacturer rose the price by Rs 5/kg in the first phase. "Now we are selling ghee at Rs 85 per kg against Rs 80 on Saturday," said a retailer. On Monday, a 16-kg ghee canister was available at Rs 1255 against Rs 1230 on Saturday, he added.