INDONESIA HAS IMPORTED PALM OIL, TRADERS SAY

  Indonesia has imported palm oil this
  year and is likely to take more, trade sources said.
      They were commenting on a weekend Jakarta report quoting a
  Ministry of Trade spokesman as saying Indonesia had not issued
  licences to import the commodity. He also said there was no
  sign of a shortage of palm oil in Indonesia.
      A major palm oil dealer said he shipped Malaysian palm oil
  to Indonesia in February, additional vessels were loading this
  month and other vessels had been earmarked for April.
      Other operators claimed they had palm oil booked for
  Indonesia but would not disclose tonnages.
      Traders said palm oil production in Indonesia this year had
  been below expectations and current stocks were low. They said
  licences were issued at the start of the year to import crude
  palm oil but were subsequently revised to include RBD olein and
  RBD oil.
      Last week there were rumours in European markets that
  Indonesia had issued licences to import around 135,000 tonnes
  of palm oil for deliveries commencing April. An Indonesian
  Ministry of Trade official said this was incorrect.
      Some traders here said the total could be more. Others said
  they could include those issued earlier this year and
  applications not yet granted.
  

