Ghee, cooking oil prices see massive hike

ISLAMABAD - Amid inflationary pressures, the prices of ghee and cooking oil in Pakistan have witnessed a significant hike, with some branded products seeing an increase of up to Rs100 per litre. Retailers confirmed that branded cooking oil and ghee prices now stand at Rs570 per litre, following an average rise of Rs80 per kg/litre. The country, which imports 90% of its palm oil requirements from Indonesia and 10% from Malaysia, consumes approximately 5 million tons of ghee and cooking oil annually.

Of this, around 3.5 million tons of palm oil are imported to meet local demand. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics indicates that during the first five months of the fiscal year 2024, the country imported 1.



319 million tons of palm oil worth $1.26 billion. This marks an increase from the 1.

248 million tons valued at $1.17 billion imported during the same period last year. The average price per ton has risen marginally to $954, compared to $941 in the previous year.

CCP imposes penalties on 3 dairy associations in Karachi Sheikh Umer Rehan, Chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), attributed the price hike to fluctuations in international markets. “Global palm oil prices had surged to $1,285 per ton before settling at $1,185. This also led to a reduction in the open market price of palm oil from Rs19,000 to Rs16,500 per mound,” he said.

Despite these adjustments, smaller and medium-sized manufacturers, who dominate the market, have already reduced prices by Rs40 per kg/liter. However, larger brands—which account for 5% of the market share—have been slower to implement price cuts due to their extensive marketing and distribution networks. Meanwhile, Imports of soybean oil into the country during the first five months of the current financial year decreased by 10.

01 per cent and palm oil’s increased by 7.13 per cent as compared to the imports of the corresponding period of the last year. Resumption of flights to Europe a welcome development: Aleem Khan During the period from July-November 2024, over 74,385 metric tons of soybean costing $73.

647 million was imported to tackle the local requirements as against the imports of 74,745 metric tons valued at $81.840 million in the same period of last year, according to the data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. However, the imports of palm oil into the country during the period under review grew by 7.

13 per cent as 1.319 million metric tons of palm oil worth $1.259 billion was imported to fulfill the domestic requirements as compared to the imports of 1.

248 billion metric tons valued at $1.175 billion of the same period of the lat year. On month on month basis, the import of edible oil including soybean and palm into the country during the month of November 2024 grew by 113.

99 per cent and 11.69 per cent respectively as compared to the imports of the same month of last year. In November 2024, over 15,045 metric tons of soybean valued at $15.

138 million was imported as against the imports of 6,410 metric tons worth $7.047 million in the same month of the last year. Young Leaders Conference continues During the last month of the current financial year, over 234,885 metric tons of palm oil costing $235.

590 million was imported as compared to the imports of 231,701 metric tons valued at $210.932 million of the same month of the last year. It is worth mentioning here that the food group exports from the country during the first 05 months of the current financial year grew by 19.

58 per cent as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of the last year. During the period from July-November, 2024, food commodities worth $3.155 billion were exported as compared to the exports of $2.

638 billion of the same period of the last year. On the other hand, the food group imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 11.13 per cent and it was recorded at $2.

977 billion as against the imports of $3.350 billion of the corresponding period of the last year Dept of Chemical Engineering at UoG organises project exhibition Tags: ghee cooking oil prices.