KARACHI: Pakistan is working for the local production of palm oil and in this respect has set up oil palm extraction in the country.Minister for Industries and Production Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani talking at the 2nd Malaysia-Pakistan Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar (POTS) 2011 Tuesday said plantation of palm oil plants have already started in district Thatta. He said Sindh areas were ideal for palm oil plantation and concerted efforts were being taken to establish extraction plants.He said due to heavy import bill on palm oil, the government wanted to cut dependence on it in order to reduce financial burden on national exchequer.“This will also help Pakistan improve its balance of trade between Pakistan and Malaysia and promote indigenous palm oil plantation in the country,” he said.
He said Pakistan was currently exporting Textile products, rice, vegetable and fruits to Malaysia. “Pakistan is also in the dialogue with Malaysia for seeking technical know-how and collaboration in auto parts manufacturing with buy-back guarantee,” he told.The minister said Malaysia would also provide assistance to Pakistan for further strengthen its auto vendors industry.Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia Bernard Dompok said southern Pakistan has the suitable climate for palm oil plantation and his country was helping Pakistan in this regard. He said Malaysia was exporting 2.2 million tonnes of palm oil to Pakistan per annum, besides raw material for rubber and paper production.He said palm oil was the most competitive oil in the world and its global demand is also increasing by the passage of time.Palm oil is grown over 100,000 million hectares producing 17.2 million tonnes of palm oil, of which 15 million tonnes is exported annually, he added. “Malaysia is working to double palm oil production by increasing productivity – Dailytimes
