InfoSAWIT, LAHORE –As the effort to maintain and increase palm oil trade from Indonesia to Pakistan and also blocks the negative campaign, the Embassy of Indonesia in Islamabad together with APICAL, a marketing and distributor palm oil and derivative company, didConference on Palm Oilin Lahore, Pakistan.
170 stakeholders of Pakistan from the sales manager area and palm oil product distributors, including Vanaspati Ghee came to the event in Palace Hall Hotel Pearl Continental (PC) Lahore, Pakistan.
The Ambassador ofIndonesia to Pakistan, Iwan Suyudhie Amrisaid the conference involved every representative of marketing, distributor, and industry in palm oil in Pakistan. “This is the first event to do,” he said as InfoSAWITquoted from the official page of Ministry of External Affairs, Thursday (22/11/2018).
Days before on 10 September 2018, The Embassy in Islamabad had done joint seminar together with University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), and Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) within the same theme, ‘Palm Oil: Health, Nutrition & Development’. Most of the participants were from the academics and researchers.
“It needs massive efforts to increase the understandings of the stakeholders in Pakistan both to academics, educational institution, think – tank institution, the Chambers and Industries, Traders Associations, and the palm oil product businessmen, that palm oil is a good commodity,” Iwan said.
Some challenges come up about the sustainability of palm oil trade from Indonesia in Pakistan in some last years, such as, about the ban plan to Vanaspati Ghee (more than 70% derive from palm oil mixture) in 2020 regulated by Punjab Food Authority (PFA)for it is assumed to have health issue.
Besides, the assumption in the people of Pakistan concluded that cooking oil is healthier than ghee oil which they consume for tens of years and becomes the life style of culinary.
Within the spirit to answer the challenges, by comprehensive informing and educating about palm oil, the Embassy in Islamabad gathered the nutrition and food experts from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Masood Sadiq Butt, fromMadina Group of Industry, Sumerah Shehzad and from palm oil marketing products, Head Country Manager of APICAL, Naveed Gilani, andPunjab Board of Investment & Trade, M. Sohail Qadri to tell the public, the producers and the consumers of edible oil that palm oil would not be dangerous to the health, it is full of nutrition, very potential to increase the economy, and increase the gross domestic product in the country.
“Cooking oil and ghee oil in Pakistan contributed to the exchange of the country reaching about US$ 8 billion per year. 80% of the industries derived from palm oil and created more than 100.000 jobs,” Naveed Gilani of APICAL said. (T2)
