Demand for palm oil decreases due to large foreign palm oil imports

July 3

Around 20,000 tonnes of palm oil were expected to arrive from abroad in early July. Therefore, the demand for palm oil in the various regions, including Yangon, decreased remarkably on 1 July.

In the Yangon edible oil market, palm oil prices rose due to the difficulty of purchasing palm oil at the end of June. Edible oil dealers said that the price has risen to K8,000–K8,200 per viss in the market.

The wholesale reference price was K4,010 per viss from 26 June to 1 July, and the market price is around K4,000 per viss higher than the reference price.

Due to the high market prices, the relevant authorities discussed and negotiated with related parties on 1 July to stabilize palm oil prices. In addition, there has also been news recently that imported palm oil would continue to enter the country.

The increase in oil imports from abroad and the discussion of relevant authorities on the rise in palm oil prices caused an excess supply of palm oil in the Yangon market.

According to a dealer, those who had stored palm oil at more than K7,000 per viss in previous months were able to sell them again when the price went up at the end of June and got profits instead of losses.

In the Yangon oil market, the price is often raised for some reason, and at the end of June, the wholesale price rose to around K1,000 per viss within a few days. The price of a tonne of imported palm oil was only US$860 on 30 June. In this situation, local oil traders said that they would monitor the price situation of the oil market on 3 July. — TWA/CT