KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s crude palm oil (CPO) stocks slumped 19.2% to 583,761 tonnes in December 2020 from the 722,451 tonnes in November, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said.

Processed palm oil stocks shrank 18.85% month-on-month to 681,120 tonnes during the month compared with 839,307 tonnes in the preceding month, the board said in its monthly report on the palm oil industry performance for December 2020.

During the month under review, CPO production slid 10.59% month-on-month to 1.33 million tonnes from 1.49 million tonnes previously.

Palm kernel output was 11.41% lower at 310,204 tonnes from 350,144 tonnes in November 2020.

“Palm oil exports gained 24.66% to 1.62 million tonnes in December 2020 versus 1.3 million tonnes in the previous month, while oleochemical exports slipped by 5.91% to 246,844 tonnes from 262,392 tonnes previously, ” it said.

Biodiesel exports in the month under review jumped 111.34% to 42,913 tonnes compared with 20,305 tonnes in November 2020. Palm kernel oil exports, meanwhile, added 58.64% to 145,551 tonnes from 91,747 tonnes in the preceding month. Exports of palm kernel cake decreased 22.75% to 168,208 tonnes in December 2020 from 217,753 tonnes in November 2020.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council is forecasting CPO prices to remain above RM3,000 per tonne in 2021. — Bernama

Source : The Star