Crude palm oil (CPO) prices are expected to remain between RM4,200 and RM4,500 per tonne in the coming weeks, despite domestic inventories rising to their highest level since January last year.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) said the country’s palm oil production rose 2.4% month-on-month to 1.85 million tonnes in August, driven by higher yields in Sabah (13,000) and Sarawak (50,000).
However, production in Peninsular Malaysia began to decline after peaking in July.
Palm oil exports remained stable at 1.32 million tonnes, with shipments to Asia Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, EU-27, North Africa and West Asia recording increases, while exports to the Americas and South Asia declined slightly.
This also contributed to the increase in stocks to 2.2 million tonnes in August, although this was still lower than the 2018-2019 record of 2.5 to 2.7 million.
According to MPOC, palm oil continued to lead the price of vegetable oils in the international market in the third quarter, increasing by 10.9% compared to the previous quarter.
Sunflower oil prices jumped by 5.1% and soybean oil increased by 3.8%. In contrast, canola oil prices fell by 0.7% after China imposed a 75.8% import duty on canola from Canada.
Global demand is expected to continue to support palm oil prices until 2026, when consumption of the four major vegetable oils is expected to exceed production, creating a moderate supply deficit.
