Pakistan's edible-oil market is heavily dependent on imports, and the numbers are large enough to make that clear without much interpretation. In 2024, Pakistan imported around 3.08 billion kg of non-crude palm oil and its liquid fractions through a network of bulk edible oil importers in Pakistan, worth about US$2.92 billion. Indonesia alone accounted for nearly 2.73 billion kg of that volume. Malaysia supplied another 349.86 million kg. Soybean oil was a much smaller trade, with Pakistan importing about 161.72 million kg, most of it from Argentina and Paraguay.
There is an interesting detail in those figures. Pakistan imports enormous quantities of palm-based oil, while the soybean-oil trade follows a completely different route. And behind both are local companies refining, blending, packaging and selling cooking oil and banaspati under some of the country's best-known brands.
| Product | HS Code | 2024 Import Volume | Import Value | Major Supplier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm oil, other than crude | 151190 | 3.08 billion kg | ~US$2.92 billion | Indonesia: 2.73 billion kg (~US$2.58B); Malaysia: 349.86 million kg (~US$332.22M) |
| Crude palm oil | 151110 | ~13 million kg | ~US$12.39 million | Malaysia: entire recorded quantity |
| Soybean oil | 1507 | 161.72 million kg | ~US$163.13 million | Argentina: 140.71 million kg; Paraguay: 20.30 million kg |
| Soybeans | 120100 | 1.03+ billion kg | — | Ukraine, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ethiopia and others |
So there is quite a bit happening behind the cooking-oil shelf. Imported palm oil is one major stream. Soybeans and soybean oil form another, with domestic processing sitting somewhere in between.
Pakistan does grow oilseeds. Cottonseed, rapeseed, sunflower and other crops contribute to domestic oil production, and the country also has crushing and extraction facilities.
It still isn't enough. A recent industry assessment by Unity Foods described Pakistan as one of the world's larger edible-oil consuming markets and noted that the country's edible-oil industry remains dependent on imports. Its market data put edible-oil consumption at more than 4 million tonnes in FY2023, while palm-oil imports alone were worth about US$2.68 billion in FY2024.
Palm oil has consequently become a normal part of the country's food supply chain rather than some occasional import requirement.
That is also why Indonesia has such a commanding position. For Pakistani refiners and manufacturers, palm oil from Southeast Asia has been part of the procurement equation for years.
Soybean oil is smaller, but it has its own place in the market. And the large volume of imported soybeans adds another dimension, particularly because soybean processing also feeds the country's animal-feed industry.
The companies buying or processing edible oil in Pakistan are not all doing the same thing. Some are household consumer brands. Others have refineries, storage facilities and industrial customers behind those brands.
| Company | Main Edible-Oil Business | Trade Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Dalda Foods | Cooking oil, canola, sunflower, corn oil, banaspati | One of Pakistan's established edible-oil companies with several consumer brands |
| Unity Foods | Palm oil, soybean oil, cooking oil, specialty fats | Integrated food business with edible-oil refining and extraction facilities |
| Mezan Group | Cooking oil, canola, sunflower, banaspati | Long-established producer with a broad edible-oil portfolio |
| Punjab Oil Mills | Cooking oils, banaspati and specialty products | Manufacturer serving both consumer and food-service segments |
| Habib Oil Mills | Cooking oil and banaspati | Established Pakistani producer with a long presence in the market |
Dalda has been around in Pakistan for decades — since the 1950s, in fact. So it is not really just another cooking-oil brand in the market. Over the years, the business has grown into edible oils and fats more broadly, with names like Dalda, Planta, Manpasand and Tullo. The products cover quite a bit too — soybean, canola, sunflower, corn and olive oil, as well as banaspati.
Its procurement side is particularly interesting for bulk suppliers. Dalda's published vendor information has included international companies such as Viterra, FGV Trading, Astra KLK, COFCO Resources and Al-Ghurair. The same disclosure identifies palm oil, palm olein and soybean oil among the materials being sourced.
So this is not simply a packaged-oil brand buying finished products from someone else. There is a substantial raw-material procurement operation behind it.
Unity Foods has a somewhat different profile.
Its business stretches across edible oils, staples, specialty fats, animal feed and other food products. The company operates an edible-oil refinery at Port Qasim as well as a solvent-extraction plant at Kotri. Its own corporate material describes the business as vertically integrated across the food chain.
There is also an older but useful look at its Port Qasim operation: the refinery was designed to process crude palm oil, with storage capacity for crude oil, and the company has positioned its edible-oil business for consumer, industrial and bulk customers.
That combination makes Unity relevant to suppliers dealing in bulk oils as well as to businesses looking for industrial edible-oil buyers.
Mezan has been part of Pakistan's edible-oil industry for decades. Its refinery operation produces Mezan Cooking Oil, Mezan Canola Oil, Mezan Sunflower Oil, Mezan Banaspati, Olivola and several other products.
The product range itself says quite a bit about the company. It is not tied to one particular cooking oil. Canola, sunflower, conventional cooking oil, olive oil and banaspati all sit within the same business.
For a supplier, that makes Mezan worth considering where the offer is suited to refined oils, specialty oils or the raw materials used in these products.
Punjab Oil Mills is another established name, with products sold under brands such as CanOlive, Zaiqa, Naturelle and Tru Bru.
Its business is more than a single cooking-oil line, covering edible oils, fats and related food products. The company also caters to different consumer and commercial requirements, which makes it relevant when researching buyers beyond the very largest Pakistani groups.
Habib Oil Mills has been in Pakistan's edible-oil business for many years and is another company associated with cooking oil and banaspati.
It is the kind of buyer worth including in a broader prospecting exercise, particularly when the requirement is not limited to the country's very largest refinery groups.
Palm oil takes up most of the import volume, but the country's edible-oil basket is wider.
The main products include:
For someone supplying in bulk, the difference between these categories is more than a matter of product naming. A company buying palm olein for its refinery has a very different requirement from a food manufacturer looking for a particular specialty fat.
| HS Code | Product |
|---|---|
| 150710 | Crude soybean oil |
| 150790 | Soybean oil other than crude and its fractions |
| 151110 | Crude palm oil |
| 151190 | Palm oil other than crude and its liquid fractions |
| 151211 | Crude sunflower or safflower oil |
| 151219 | Sunflower or safflower oil other than crude |
| 151590 | Other fixed vegetable oils and fats |
| 151620 | Hydrogenated or otherwise modified vegetable fats and oils |
Pakistan's national tariff goes into greater detail within these headings. For example, the Trade Information Portal separately lists RBD palm oil and palm stearin under the 151190 heading.
The exact national tariff line should therefore be checked against the actual product before an export contract is finalised.
Port Qasim is the important name here.
The Port Qasim Authority's own figures show 3.272 million tonnes of edible oil imports through its Liquid Cargo Terminal in FY2024–25. The previous year was 2.783 million tonnes.
The infrastructure around the trade is substantial. Port Qasim's Liquid Cargo Terminal was developed specifically for edible-oil imports and has a stated design capacity of 4 million tonnes per year. It can handle tankers carrying edible oils and is connected through pipeline systems to storage terminals in the edible-oil and molasses area.
That makes Port Qasim more than just a place where vessels unload.
It is closely tied to the storage and refining network around Karachi. Unity Foods, for example, operates an edible-oil refinery at Port Qasim.
Karachi's wider port ecosystem is therefore difficult to separate from Pakistan's edible-oil trade. When discussing a bulk shipment with a Pakistani buyer, the port, terminal, storage arrangement and final refinery location all deserve to be clear before the delivery terms are fixed.
The requirements depend on how the oil is being imported.
If it is consumer-packed edible oil, the product and nutrition details need to be in both Urdu and English. The pack also needs the relevant Halal certification logo, along with a valid Halal certificate from an accredited body.
Bulk oil is a little different. If it is coming in for refining or further processing, the same retail-packaging rules may not apply.
There is also the quality side. Imported edible oil must meet the applicable PSQCA standards, and shipments can be inspected at ports, dry ports and airports.
So, before the oil leaves the origin country, it is indeed worth confirming the quality standard, testing, Halal documents and product specifications with the Pakistani buyer. That simple check can actually prevent compliance issues later.
The first question is usually the simplest one: what's the price? Fair enough. That is where any buying conversation starts. But if the buyer is serious, the next few questions come pretty quickly. What exactly are you offering? Is it crude or refined? Which grade? Where is it coming from? How much can you supply? Which port will it load from? When can it ship? And what are the delivery terms?
These aren't formalities. A refinery or manufacturing unit needs to know what is actually coming through the door before it commits to a purchase.
So the technical specifications matter. And they matter quite a bit.
Take palm products. It is easy to club everything under the broad term “palm oil”, but a buyer cannot really work that way. RBD palm oil, palm olein and palm stearin are different products. The fact that they all come from palm doesn't mean one can simply replace the other.
You can see this distinction in the procurement disclosures of Dalda as well. Its listed suppliers have included companies from Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe and the UAE, with different suppliers supplying palm oil, palm olein and soybean oil. Dalda Foods prospectus
Then comes the part that is often harder to put into a quotation sheet: reliability.
A refinery buying large volumes needs some predictability. It needs to know that the oil ordered today will arrive when it is supposed to arrive, and that what turns up will match the agreed specification.
Otherwise, one delayed shipment can start creating problems elsewhere in the chain.
This is also why the lowest price doesn't automatically win the business.
Suppose one exporter is a little cheaper but keeps leaving doubts around specifications or shipment dates. Another is slightly more expensive but has a steady product and a shipment programme the buyer can actually plan around.
For a serious industrial buyer, the second offer may well make more sense.
Because when you're buying edible oil in bulk, you aren't just buying the oil. You're buying some certainty around it too.
India has one of the world's largest edible-oil industries and is geographically close to Pakistan. Yet the major import flows visible in the 2024 data are coming from elsewhere.
Indonesia and Malaysia dominate Pakistan's palm-oil imports, while Argentina and Paraguay account for most of the soybean-oil trade.
There is another trade flow worth keeping in mind. Pakistan imported more than 1.03 billion kg of soybeans in 2024, with Ukraine, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ethiopia among the larger origins.
So the opportunity for Indian suppliers is unlikely to be as simple as competing with Indonesian palm oil on sheer volume. A particular refined product, specialty oil or commercially suitable smaller shipment can be a different proposition.
The geography is favourable. The existing procurement structure is the harder part.
Going with the traditional ways, like listing websites, directories, and even expensive trade shows, to find edible oil buyers in Pakistan is not just time-consuming but also a completely outdated method.
Tradologie can facilitate B2B transactions between edible-oil buyers and suppliers around specifications, quantities, pricing, packaging and delivery requirements.
Buyers and sellers can discuss the pricing through real-time negotiations and finalize the trade details directly on the platform.
This content is for general informational purposes and is based on the trade, company and regulatory information provided in the source material. Historical import figures do not necessarily represent current purchasing requirements. Exporters should independently verify buyer demand, product specifications, PSQCA standards, Halal requirements, documentation and commercial terms before shipment.
Pakistan imported around 3.08 billion kg of non-crude palm oil and its liquid fractions, valued at approximately US$2.92 billion. Indonesia supplied nearly 2.73 billion kg. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
Pakistan imported around 161.72 million kg of soybean oil in 2024, worth approximately US$163.13 million. Argentina supplied 140.71 million kg and Paraguay 20.30 million kg. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
The source highlights Dalda Foods, Unity Foods, Mezan Group, Punjab Oil Mills and Habib Oil Mills among important edible-oil companies and buyers. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
The market includes palm oil and palm olein, crude palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, canola and rapeseed oil, corn oil, mustard oil and hydrogenated or modified vegetable fats. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
Port Qasim is particularly important. Its Liquid Cargo Terminal handled 3.272 million tonnes of edible-oil imports in FY2024–25 and has infrastructure connected to storage and refining facilities. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
Consumer-packed edible oils require Urdu and English product and nutrition information along with relevant Halal certification. Imported edible oils must also meet applicable PSQCA standards and may be inspected at ports and other entry points. Edible Oil Importers in Pakista…
