Malaysia increased palm oil production by 17% in March, putting pressure on quotes

According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), in March, Malaysia increased its crude palm oil (CPO) production by 16.76% compared to February from 1.18 to 1.38 million tonnes, palm kernels by 18.23% from 284,959 to 336,918 thousand tonnes, crude palm kernel oil by 15.2% from 130,146 to 149,923 thousand tonnes, and palm kernel pulp by 20.74% from 142,997 to 172,655 thousand tonnes.

At the same time, palm oil exports in March increased by only 0.91% compared to February, from 996.46 to 1,000 thousand tons, while palm kernel oil exports decreased by 3.11% from 58.144 to 56.333 thousand tons, palm kernel pulp by 36.9% to 122.977 thousand tons, and biodiesel by 64.46% from 42.052 to 14.947 thousand tons.

Total palm oil stocks in the country increased by 3.52% to 1.56 million tons in March, in particular, stocks of refined palm oil increased by 14.63% to 783.35 thousand tons, while stocks of crude palm oil (CPO) decreased by 5.68% to 779.2 thousand tons.

June palm oil futures on the Bursa exchange in Malaysia fell 2.6% to 4,214 ringgit/t or $953/t in the week, but were supported by a pick-up in exports in April after the end of Ramadan.

During April 1-10, Malaysia increased its exports of palm oil products compared to the corresponding period in March by 52.8% to 301 thousand tons (according to estimates by survey company AmSpec Agri Malaysia), or by 29.3% to 323.16 thousand tons (according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services).

May soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose by 5.3% to $1,044/t in three sessions (+3.5% for the week), which supported palm oil quotes and will contribute to the growth of sunflower oil prices.