First lot of imported palm oil to reachThailand by end of Jan

BANGKOK, January 21 (TNA) - The first lot of 12,000 tons of imported palm oil will arrive in Thailand before the end of this month. Jintana Chaiyawonnagal, Chairperson of the Public Warehouse Organization (PWO), told journalists of the update on Wednesday, noting that the rest of imported palm oil will reach the country by mid-February 2015. Jintana said that the imports of palm oil will secure supply for domestic consumption over the next couple of months pending new produce of local palm oil, urging local oil palm growers not to be worried as the government has already guaranteed the minimum price of raw oil palm nuts at 5 baht per kilogram. After the Cabinet's approval of Thailand's imports of 50,000 tons of crude palm oil on January 20, Jintana acknowledged, PWO will spend about 1.5 billion baht to pay for the imports and the task will be done by the middle of next month. The senior official stated that PWO has sealed a good price with palm oil traders in Malaysia, enabling PWO to sell the imported palm oil to local business operators who are members of palm oil associations at 27.50-28 baht per liter, the price of which is accepted by the local private sector, while the imported product will be processed into refined palm oil for domestic consumption to be available in bags and bottles at the retailed price of 42 baht per liter capped by the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Internal Trade. As the government requires local palm oil refiners who buy the imported crude palm oil from PWO to also buy raw oil palm nuts from local oil palm growers at at least 5 baht per kilogram, while local growers' cost stands at about 3.50 baht per kilogram, the senior official pointed out that the government's guaranteed price of five baht should, thus, be acceptable to them. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikalya ensured that the imported palm oil of 50,000 tons will increase Thailand's palm oil supply to 150,000 tons a month, which meets domestic demand and should not affect the domestic price of new lots of raw plam nuts in March 2015, as the imports are allowed only in a short-term. According to the commerce minister, Thailand's palm oil stocks have fallen from a benchmark level of at least 200,000 tons since last October, prompting his ministry to seek the Cabinet's approval of the imported palm oil to ensure sufficient supply for domestic consumption. Nit Uitekkeng, deputy chief of the provincial chamber of commerce in Ranong Province, revealed that Myanmar people from Kawthaung Township, opposite the southern resort Thai province, and nearby areas, as well as Myanmar workers in Thailand have, in the meantime, flocked to purchase palm oil and other cooking oil for hoarding for a fear of a shortage in the near future. (TNA)