India clarifies port access restrictions<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Palm oil traders breathed sighs of
\nrelief on Tuesday after India offered some clarifications on port
\naccess restrictions that had sent jitters of concern through the
\nmarket over the fate of shipments from Malaysia and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But prices still remained weak due to lingering uncertainties
\nover last week's decision by India, the world's largest vegetable
\noil importer, to restrict vegetable oils imports to a select
\ngroup of ports to facilitate monitoring of overall purchases.<\/p>\n
The move had thrown the market into confusion, with shipments
\nof up to 25,000 tons of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia
\nhanging in the balance until Indian Commerce Secretary Prabir
\nSengupta said the order did not apply to cargo in transit.<\/p>\n
\"There's a provision in the order that it does not apply to
\nthings that have already been shipped or where letters of credit
\nhave been opened,\" Sengupta told Reuters. \"It will only apply to
\nfuture shipments\".<\/p>\n
The comments appeared to dispel market fears voiced earlier,
\nalthough some uncertainty remained about the impact of the move.<\/p>\n
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said last
\nweek traders could import edible oils only through Bombay,
\nJawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Calcutta, Cochin,
\nVishakhapatanam and Madras.<\/p>\n
This was part of government measures to restrict the import of
\n300 consumer good items only through selected entry points.<\/p>\n
Each week, India imports at least 50,000 tons of palm oil from
\nMalaysia and Indonesia, the world's largest producers, traders
\nsaid. About half of this amount normally goes to ports now banned
\nfrom receiving edible oils, they said.<\/p>\n
These ports include Kandla and Mundra in the western state of
\nGujarat, which accounted for about 35-40 percent of India's
\nedible oil imports of 4.5 million tons in 1999-2000 (Oct-Sept).<\/p>\n
Traders said around 100,000 tons of South American soyoil was
\nalso heading for India. But this should also be safe, as they
\nbelieved the new regulation only applied to shipping contracts
\nconcluded after the order was announced on May 2.<\/p>\n
India's decision also troubled the freight market, which
\nexpected freight rates to the west coast of India to fall soon
\ndue to a lack of shipments there in the future.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody is looking for clarification. What will happen to
\nthe vessels? I can't answer the question,\" said one freight
\nbroker in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Traders said freight rates from Malaysia, the world's largest
\npalm oil producer, to the west coast of India could drop to below
\n$25 from the current $28-$29 a ton for May\/June because of
\nuncertainty over future directions.<\/p>\n
Benchmark third-month July crude palm oil futures dropped 20
\nringgit to 775 ringgit ($203.95) a ton at the close on Tuesday
\namid the uncertainty over the Indian news.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/india-clarifies-port-access-restrictions-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}