Global: Demand for palm oil rises due to a surge in prices for other oils and supply problems

Demand for palm oil is rising as the discount increases from soybean oil and sunflower oil, driven by the recent increase in the price of competing oils due to production problems in the US and supply disruptions from the Black Sea region, industry officials said. This surge in demand is expected to help Indonesia and Malaysia reduce their palm oil holdings while strengthening Malaysian palm oil futures. "Aggressive pricing is helping palm oil as buyers switch to palm oil instead of other oils for nearly a month's supply," said Sanjeev Astana, CEO of Patanjali Foods Ltd (PAFO.NS), India's largest buyer of palm oil. India, the world's largest buyer of edible oils, imported 1.09 million metric tons of palm oil in July, up almost 60% from June and the highest in seven months. India's imports will also remain stable through August and September, Astana said. Crude palm oil is offered at $910 per ton including cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to India for September deliveries, ...