Three ships bearing 15,000 tonnes of imported palm oil to arrive soon

Three ships carrying 15,000 tonnes of imported palm oil will arrive in Myanmar in the second week of February 2023, according to Yangon oil market.
In 2022, the average monthly import of oil was around 40,000 tonnes, with the maximum in July at 58,609 tonnes and the minimum in May at 25,020 tonnes.
In the Yangon oil market, palm oil prices rose due to the fact that there is a lack of oil in some oil tanks. The retail price of oil was K6,600 per viss on 3 February. In some deltaic regions, those who kept oil in their hands are selling it at a low price of K6,700 kyats per viss. The DO price was K6,450 per viss.
Between 20 January and 1 February, 2022, about 20,000 tonnes of palm oil were imported. However, it is reported by some major oil outlets in Yangon that there is a difficulty in getting oil from the external oil market in Yangon, making a raise in price.
Oil hoarders raise the oil price under the pretext of difficulty in the available of oil. Thus, the wholesale reference price increased by around K1,000 per viss from the previous price of K4,530-K4,430 per viss. The DO price rose from K5,250 per viss on 2 January 2023 to K6,450-K6,500 per viss on 3 February.
Although it is said that oil extraction is difficult, there is an influx of cooking oil from abroad. An oil seller said that the exchange price of the Yangon market is a form of speculation by some of those who have spot oil due to the low change in the reference price.
Despite being said that there is a difficulty in getting oil, the supply of palm oil from abroad and low reference price changes keep the Yangon markets’ price to appear as a form of price manipulation by some oil hoarders, a dealer said.
After the news that around 15,000 tonnes of oil will enter from abroad, there are speculations about the change in oil price in external markets on 6 February 2023, at the time of the reference wholesale price announcement. — TWA/CT