SAMUT PRAKAN, Jan 30 — The first lot–9,000 tonnes–of imported palm oil has arrived in Thailand, while the remaining 41,000 tonnes is expected to arrive in the Kingdom within the next two weeks, as planned by the government.
The Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO), under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, reported Friday that the first lot of the imported palm oil arrived in Thailand yesterday,
The PWO said it immediately distributed the palm oil to 11 member refineries of the Thai Palm Oil Refinery Association, where the oil will be bottled for sale to consumers nationwide at a retail price of no higher than 42 baht per bottle as regulated by the Department of Internal Trade, also under the Ministry of Commerce.
The agency announced that the bottled palm oil will be available on retail shelves as of January 31.
PWO Board Chairperson Jintana Chaiyawonnagal told journalists that she believes the remaining 41,000 tonnes of oil will arrive in Thailand by mid-February in sufficient quantity to meet domestic demand, and urgen the public not to worry or hoard the product.
The Cabinet recently approved PWO's short-term imports of 50,000 tonnes of raw palm oil by mid-February to serve domestic demand pending new yields of locally-grown raw palm nuts, expected by the first quarter of this year. (MCOT online news)
