Malaysia’s palm oil stocks fall to 8-month low

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks fell to their lowest level in eight months by the end of March despite higher production and exports, according to market participants polled by Reuters.

They said balances at the end of the period under review stood at 1.79 million tons (-6.65% from February). This is the fifth consecutive monthly decline in this indicator.

Meanwhile, shipments are noted to have increased by more than 21% to 1.23 million tons amid increased demand for the product due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“We have seen an increase in exports in March and expect the same momentum to continue in April and May,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at brokerage Pelindung Bestari.

In addition, crude palm oil (CPO) production rose for the first time since November during the reporting period, up 9.76% month-on-month to 1.38 million tons.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is scheduled to release its monthly data on April 15.

Tags: Malaysia, palm oil, stocks