KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Malaysia’s palm oil inventories at the end of January fell 12.7% to 1.76 million tonnes from the previous month, its lowest in over two years, according to data released by industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) on Monday.
January production in the world’s second-largest palm producer fell 12.6% month-on-month to 1.17 million tonnes, while exports slumped 13.2% from December to 1.21 million tonnes, the MPOB data showed.
This compared to a Reuters survey forecasting January end-stocks to tumble around 12% to 1.76 million tonnes, their lowest since June 2017, as dry weather and lower fertiliser usage in Malaysia early last year curbed yields.
January production was forecast to fall 9% from December to 1.21 million tonnes, while exports were forecast to fall 8.2% to 1.28 million tonnes.
Here is a breakdown of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board figures and Reuters estimates for January (volumes in tonnes):
| Jan 2020 | Jan 2020 poll | Dec 2019* | Jan 2019 | |
| Production | 1,165,860 | 1,213,853 | 1,333,904 | 1,737,498 |
| Stocks | 1,755,480 | 1,760,000 | 2,010,527 | 3,001,169 |
| Exports | 1,213,519 | 1,282,000 | 1,398,049 | 1,676,442 |
| Imports | 85,033 | 80,000 | 123,029 | 81,084 |
* indicates revised figures
Source : The Edge Markets
