Wednesday, February 22, 2012

RTRS-INDONESIA'S CPO EXPORTS TO PAKISTAN TO RISE TO 800,000 T PER YEAR WITHIN 3 YEARS, VS 178,000 T LAST YEAR - INDUSTRY OFFICIAL

JAKARTA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Pakistan's imports of palm oil from top producer Indonesia will more than quadruple to 800,000 tonnes over the next three years, an executive at an Indonesian industry group said on Tuesday.

Indonesia and Pakistan signed a preferential trade agreement in early February, which will result in Islamabad lowering its duty on crude palm oil. [ID:nL4E8D32Z3]

"We expect exports to Pakistan in 2012 to recover," Fadhil Hasan, executive director at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), told Reuters.

"The highest level we had was in 2007 at 800,000 tonnes," he added. "Hopefully in three years, we can make up that level."

Pakistan imported 178,000 tonnes of Indonesian CPO last year, he said.

Currently, India and China buy the most CPO from Indonesia, with Europe in third place.