Pakistan’s 2009 oilseed imports to double

[LahoreEstate]

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan's oilseeds imports this year are likely to double to 1 million tonnes as lower global prices and lack of domestic supplies prompted crushers to stock up, traders said on Wednesday.

The country has contracted for imports of 550,000 tonnes, or more than five times the corresponding earlier figure, buying mainly sunflower seed from the Black Sea region and canola from Canada to be delivered between January and April.

‘Pakistan has done extraordinary buying of oilseeds this year,’ a leading trader, who declined to be named, told Reuters. ‘Imports so far, from January to April, have reached 550,000 tonnes.’

Another trader said a decline in domestic production of cottonseed prompted crushers to seek additional imported supplies. ‘Global oilseed prices came down, that is one reason, and there was less cottonseed production in Pakistan,’ he said.

‘Crushers don't like to see their plants idle, so they went on a buying spree.’

ICE Canadian canola futures ended Tuesday higher with support from soybeans and pressure from a firming Canadian dollar. The May canola contract rose $3.20 to $410.80 on a volume of 3,564 while July was up $3 to $408.70 on 2,335 contracts.

But the second-month contract has lost more than 44 per cent since March last year.

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