Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil exporter, has imposed a ban on palm oil exports since April 28.The country’s navy also detained two ships for exporting during the embargo. However, a ship bound for Chittagong was able to leave the Indonesian port at the last minute on the day before the ban.
The ship bound for Chittagong was named MT Sumatra Palm. The ship has 1 crore 31 lakh liters of palm oil. TK Group imported this oil.
The ship set sail for Chittagong on April 26 from the Indonesian port of Lubuk Goong, according to the ship’s monitoring website VesselFinder. A day later, the country’s navy intercepted two ships carrying palm oil from Indonesian waters.
Kazi Abu Naeem, general manager of Mohammadi Trading Company Limited, a local representative of the ship, told Prothom Alo that the ship was scheduled to arrive at Chittagong port on May 8.
At least 20,000 tonnes of palm oil imports from Bangladesh have been blocked due to Indonesia’s export ban, according to importer sources. The oil import bonds were opened before the ban. However, it could not be ascertained whose imported palm oil was stuck.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Indonesian traders imported 120 million liters of palm oil in April (1-26) before the ban. After importing, the oil is stored at the Customs Bonded Tank Terminal. At the same time, 13 crore liters of palm oil has been taken to the factory for refining. Unloading rates were higher than imports due to earlier stockpiles at the tank terminal.
Bangladesh imports about 1.3 million tons of palm oil annually. 90% of which is imported from Indonesia. Due to lower prices than Malaysia, more palm oil is imported from Indonesia. Imports from Malaysia are 10 percent.
Soybean and palm oil came under pressure as supplies of sunflower oil were disrupted after the Russia-Ukraine war. And Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier of palm oil, has announced a cut in exports, pushing up prices of all types of edible oils.
As Indonesia has stopped exporting, now India and China like Bangladesh are leaning towards importing palm oil from Malaysia. However, it is not possible for the country to cope with this huge demand. Even with the price, getting palm oil has become a big challenge for the importers of this country.
Asked, TK Group Director Mostafa Haider told Prothom Alo, “We are trying our best to import. The government should also be careful so that imports continue