1.3 crore litres of palm oil on way to Ctg from Indonesia

A ship carrying 1 crore 31 lakh litres of palm oil is arriving in Chittagong from Indonesia soon.

Indonesia had imposed an export ban on palm oil on 28 April, but the ship had left for Bangladesh a day before (27 April).

This oil is being imported by leading importer TK Group.

According to the Marine Traffic website, the MT Sumatra Palm set sail from the seaport of Lubuk Gaung, Indonesia on 27 April for Chittagong port. The ship is currently on the Malacca Strait.

Kazi Abu Naeem, general manager of Mohammadi Trading Company Limited, a local representative of the ship, said the ship carrying palm oil would arrive at Chittagong port on 6 May.

The ship bearing the Indonesian flag has a carrying capacity of 16,989 tons (DWT). The draft of the ship is 8.1 metres and it is 144.47 metres long.

TK Group Director Tariq Ahmed said, "We are continuing our efforts to keep on importing palm oil. The government should also try to make sure that imports continue."

Indonesia, the world's top palm oil exporter, has imposed a ban on palm oil exports since 28 April. The country's navy also detained two ships for exporting during the embargo.

At least 20,000 tonnes of palm oil, in the process of being imported by Bangladesh, has been blocked due to Indonesia's export ban, according to importer sources.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladeshi traders imported 120 million litres of palm oil from Indonesia between 1 April to 28 April.

Bangladesh imports about 1.3 million tons of palm oil annually, of which 90% is imported from Indonesia and the rest 10% from Malaysia.