Palm oil market price of K2,000 per viss higher than reference price

The wholesale reference prices for palm oil remained unchanged at K4,440 per viss during two weeks from 16 to 29 January 2023. The wholesale market price was up by K400 these days in Yangon markets.
The wholesale prices stood at K6,000-6,050 per viss on 16 January. Then, the price increased to K6,400-6,450 per viss on 27 January, Ko Aung Win, an edible oil seller at Nyaungpinlay market, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The market price is K2,000 per viss higher than the reference price. On 26 December, the gap narrowed only to K740 per viss, with a delivery order price of K5,100 and reference price of K4,360 per viss.
The market price stayed below K5,500 per viss for two weeks in mid-December. Yet, the difficulty in withdrawing palm oil from oil tanks in early 2023 pushed up the prices to K6,100 per viss on 9 January and K6,450 on 24-27 January.
Those traders in possession of palm oil at cheaper prices resold them in January for a good profit when the price rose in the domestic markets.
Palm oil from foreign countries keeps flowing into the domestic markets despite the withdrawal limit of some oil tanks. About 9,091 tonnes on 20 January and 6,300 tonnes on 27 January were brought into the country. More palm oil tankers are to arrive at the end of January, as per the oil market news reports. The edible oil shortage is improbable; however, traders keep the price high in recent days.
The institution issues the wholesale reference price weekly depending on the international price index and foreign exchange rate. These days, the palm oil price was estimated at 3,900 Ringgit per tonne in the Malaysian market. — TWA/EMM