(February 09-2023) Mujahid Group of Industries (MGI), a leading industrial conglomerate with interests in edible oil, construction, steel, and other businesses has clinched the title of the country’s largest importer of edible oil for the fifth year in a row.
Pakistan has become the third largest importer of cooking oil after China and India, and we feel proud as MGI is playing its positive role in fulfilling the food requirement of Pakistan, said Chairman of the Group Atif Ikram Sheikh while speaking at a function organized to celebrate the continued success.
Atif Ikram Sheikh who has also served as Chairman PVMA, VP of FPCCI and President ICCI said that e have been achieving this milestone because of the efforts of our dedicated team which is honest, loyal, and hardworking.
MGI staff deserves appreciation for providing their best to the company and i am truly amazed at what these team members have achieved through their collective efforts and want to thank them for their service, he added.
Sheikh said that our domestic production is unable to meet the demand therefore Pakistan has to rely heavily on imports to meet the gap between demand and supply which can be bridged if local cultivation of oilseeds is promoted.
One of the biggest food imports for Pakistan has historically been palm oil which is one of the cheapest oils when it comes to cooking food in most countries, he added.
He said that the year 2022 was not a walk in the park for the producers and consumers as the world saw volatility in the market which also affected Pakistan the solution to which lies in boosting local production, he stressed.
With the start of this year came the Russia-Ukraine war that caused fuel and commodity prices to skyrocket. Fuel prices caused a rise in shipping and other costs, he said.
The business leader said that Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.
Between 1995 and 2005, global palm oil production doubled. By 2015, it had almost doubled again. The world now produces more than 75 million metric tons of palm oil a year.
For comparison, the world produced roughly three million metric tons of olive oil in 2020. Palm oil and its derivatives are now in as many as half of the packaged products and 70 percent of cosmetics.
