INDONESIA HAS IMPORTED PALM OIL, TRADERS SAY
Indonesia has imported palm oil this
year and is likely to take more, trade sources said.
    They were commenting on a weekend Jakarta report quoting a
Ministry of Trade spokesman as saying Indonesia had not issued
licences to import the commodity. He also said there was no
sign of a shortage of palm oil in Indonesia.
    A major palm oil dealer said he shipped Malaysian palm oil
to Indonesia in February, additional vessels were loading this
month and other vessels had been earmarked for April.
    Other operators claimed they had palm oil booked for
Indonesia but would not disclose tonnages.
    Traders said palm oil production in Indonesia this year had
been below expectations and current stocks were low. They said
licences were issued at the start of the year to import crude
palm oil but were subsequently revised to include RBD olein and
RBD oil.
    Last week there were rumours in European markets that
Indonesia had issued licences to import around 135,000 tonnes
of palm oil for deliveries commencing April. An Indonesian
Ministry of Trade official said this was incorrect.
    Some traders here said the total could be more. Others said
they could include those issued earlier this year and
applications not yet granted.
 Reuter
