AMERICAS REGION
Malaysian Palm Oil Exports Performance
(January – October 2023)
Regional Summary
The Americas region accounted for 3% of the total Malaysian palm oil and palm products exported in Jan– Oct 2023. Palm-based oleo assumed an important composition exported to the Americas with market share of 40% or 203,047 MT from the total Malaysian palm oil and palm products exported to this region.
The second most exported composition is palm oil at 29.7%, followed by palm kernel oil at 10.2%, finished products at 10% and biodiesel at 5.5%.
| Table 1: Malaysian Palm Oil and Palm Product Export to the Americas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Products | Jan – Oct 2023 | Jan – Oct 2022 | Change (MT) | Change (%) |
| Palm-Based Oleo | 203,047 | 258,504 | (55,456) | (21.5) |
| Palm Oil | 151,106 | 189,728 | (38,621) | (20.4) |
| Palm Kernel Oil | 51,756 | 75,635 | (23,879) | (31.6) |
| Finished Products | 50,643 | 44,378 | 6,265 | 14.1 |
| Biodiesel | 28,159 | 10,075 | 18,084 | 179.5 |
| Other Palm Products | 23,401 | 378 | 23,023 | 6,094.0 |
| Grand Total | 508,112 | 578,697 | (70,585) | (12.2) |
Featured Analysis
- USA, Canada, Trinidad, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Dominica, Guyana, Panama and Argentina are the top 10 export destination for Malaysian palm oil and palm products in the Americas region.
- Palmitic acid, purified glycerine, soap noodles, stearic acid and distilled palm oil fatty acid are the top five palm-based oleo products exported from Malaysia to the region. These five products accounted for 53.2% of the total palm-based oleo products. RBD palm oil, RBD palm stearin, RBD palm olein, cooking oil and NBD palm olein are the top five palm oil products exported to the Americas, accounting for 87.9% from the overall palm oil export to this region.
- Cargill has confirmed that it is ceasing offering conventional palm oil in its US portfolio of products, as it moves to offer the key ingredient through certified Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sourcing. Reflecting growing consumer demand for more sustainably sourced ingredients, Cargill will be one of the first, large-scale US suppliers to exclusively offer palm oil certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) effective October 2023. The decision to solely offer RSPO-certified palm oil from Cargill’s US refineries addresses rising demand from both consumers, who increasingly prioritize sustainability in their purchase decisions, and food manufacturers and retailers, who are working to advance their supply chain sustainability goals. Cargill has supplied RSPO-certified palm oil since 2005, and in December 2020, converted one of its refinery to 100% segregated palm oil. With this latest move, by January 2024, all customers buying palm oil from one of Cargill’s US refineries can be assured they are receiving RSPO-certified palm oil, sourced from either mass balance or segregated supply chains. By offering only RSPO-certified palm oil from its US refineries, Cargill is making significant strides toward its own sustainability commitments and helping the growing number of brands, retailers and customers who have pledged to source palm oil responsibly, too. (Source : www.cargill.com)
- It is expected that more palm oil will be used in American food industry, partly due to reduced imports of soybean oil. Soybean oil is losing market share in the global trade, primarily to palm oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil. Despite rising soybean oil production, soybean oil export supplies was curbed by domestic consumption of biofuel production in the US and Brazil. US imports of used cooking oil for the period of Jan-Oct 2023 reached a new high while US production of hydrogenated vegetable declined. US imports of biodiesel continued to increase sharply in with the bulk of it coming from Europe.
U.S.A.
Malaysian palm oil export to the Americas region during January-October 2023 period recorded a total volume of 151,106 MT against 189,728 MT which was registered during the same period of 2022 (refer to Table 2). This represents a decline of 38,621 MT or by 20.4%.
There was a decline in the purchase of Malaysian palm oil from the biggest buyer in the region, the United States (US). However, the US still leads the palm oil market in terms of market share in the Americas region. The leading palm oil suppliers to the US consisted of Indonesia at around 86% of total import followed by Malaysia at approximately 9.3%. During Jan-Oct 2023 period, total MPO exports to US went down to 93,443 MT from 140,166 MT recorded during the same period of last year. Canada, another important market for MPO in this region, has been consistently importing palm oil from Malaysia. Total MPO export increased by 22.2% to 11,701 MT during Jan-Oct 2023 period from 9,573 MT registered during the same period last year (refer to Table 2).
| Table 2: Malaysian Palm Oil Export to the Americas Region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COUNTRY | Jan – Oct 2023 | Jan – Oct 2022 | Diff (Vol) | Diff (%) | |
| 1 | U.S.A | 93,443 | 140,166 | (46,723) | (33.3) |
| 2 | Canada | 11,701 | 9,573 | 2,127 | 22.2 |
| 3 | Trinidad | 9,497 | 8,485 | 1,012 | 11.9 |
| 4 | Mexico | 6,733 | 6,157 | 576 | 9.4 |
| 5 | Chile | 5,857 | 2,462 | 3,395 | 137.9 |
| 6 | Brazil | 5,144 | 7,164 | (2,020) | (28.2) |
| 7 | Dominica | 3,960 | 692 | 3,268 | 472.3 |
| 8 | Guyana | 3,082 | 1,021 | 2,061 | 201.8 |
| 9 | Panama | 2,506 | 836 | 1,671 | 199.9 |
| 10 | Argentina | 1,736 | 2,220 | (483) | (21.8) |
| 11 | Haiti | 1,502 | 2,084 | (582) | (27.9) |
| 12 | Barbados | 941 | 643 | 299 | 46.5 |
| 13 | Guatemala | 900 | 1,142 | (242) | (21.2) |
| 14 | Uruguay | 866 | 173 | 693 | 400.5 |
| 15 | Jamaica | 846 | 1,013 | (167) | (16.5) |
| 16 | Suriname | 821 | 165 | 656 | 399.0 |
| 17 | St. Vincent And The Grenadines | 247 | 54 | 193 | 359.2 |
| 18 | Antigua | 236 | 155 | 81 | 51.9 |
| 19 | Grenada | 213 | 38 | 175 | 458.4 |
| 20 | Cuba | 200 | 190 | 10 | 5.5 |
| 21 | Peru | 133 | 179 | (46) | (25.6) |
| 22 | Venezuela | 100 | 23 | 76 | 326.3 |
| 23 | Dominican Republic | 97 | – | 97 | N/A |
| 24 | Ecuador | 72 | 4,960 | (4,888) | (98.5) |
| 25 | St. Lucia | 71 | 25 | 47 | 188.7 |
| 26 | Costa Rica | 68 | – | 68 | N/A |
| 27 | Paraguay | 64 | 23 | 41 | 179.0 |
| 28 | Saint Kitts And Nevis | 39 | 17 | 21 | 122.3 |
| 29 | Belize | 21 | – | 21 | N/A |
| 30 | Puerto Rico | 8 | – | 8 | N/A |
| 31 | Colombia | – | 68 | (68) | (100.0) |
| TOTAL | 151,106 | 189,728 | (38,621) | (20.4) | |
Other markets with positive import growth include Trinidad, Mexico, Chile and Dominica. Chile recorded the highest increment in terms of volume, increasing by 3,395 MT while Dominica recorded the highest increment in terms of percentage, increasing by 472.3%.
Breakdown of Malaysian Palm Oil Export to USA
In terms of product breakdown to the US, RBD palm oil, RBD palm stearin and RBD palm olein are the top three products exported to US comprising almost 78.7% of the overall MPO export to US (refer to table 3). Despite being the most imported palm oil fraction, RBD palm oil has recorded a drop by 21.5%. Similar trend was observed in the exports of RBD palm stearin, where export went down by 32.3% as well as for RBD palm olein, where export went down by 56.7%. Higher imports of soybean and sunflower oil by the US were reflected in the reduction of RBD palm oil imports besides more competitive price of Indonesia palm oil going into the US market.
| Table 3: Breakdown of MPO Export to the US | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Oct 2023 | Jan – Oct 2022 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) | |
| RBD PO | 33,634 | 42,861 | (9,227) | (21.5) |
| RBD PS | 28,280 | 41,774 | (13,494) | (32.3) |
| RBD PL | 11,658 | 26,921 | (15,264) | (56.7) |
| NBD PL | 10,950 | 15,932 | (4,982) | (31.3) |
| Others | 8,922 | 12,678 | (3,757) | (29.6) |
| Total | 93,443 | 140,166 | (46,723) | (33.3) |
Figure 2: MPO Export Breakdown to the US
Other than palm oil, Malaysia also exported palm-based oleo, palm kernel oil, finished products and biodiesel to the US (refer to table 4). The top 5 exported items under the category of palm-based oleo are purified glycerine, palmitic acid, stearyl alcohol, distilled fatty acid and lauryl-stearyl alcohol (refer to table 5).
| Table 4: Malaysian Palm Oil and Palm Products Export to the US | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Oct 2023 | Jan – Oct 2022 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) | |
| Palm-Based Oleo | 114,098 | 176,579 | (62,481) | (35.4) |
| Palm Oil | 93,443 | 140,166 | (46,723) | (33.3) |
| Palm Kernel Oil | 27,788 | 26,466 | 1,322 | 5.0 |
| Finished Products | 15,615 | 12,744 | 2,872 | 22.5 |
| Biodiesel | 28,159 | 9,998 | 18,162 | 181.7 |
| Other Palm Products | 23,335 | 202 | 23,133 | 11,455.4 |
| Grand Total | 302,439 | 366,155 | (63,716) | (17.4) |
Figure 3: Palm Oil and Palm Products Export to the US
| Table 5: Breakdown of Palm-Based Oleo Products Export to the US | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm-Based Oleo | Jan – Oct 2023 | Jan – Oct 2022 | Diff (MT) | Diff (%) |
| Purified Glycerine | 16,937 | 31,957 | (15,019) | (47.0) |
| Palmitic Acid | 15,336 | 22,422 | (7,085) | (31.6) |
| Stearyl Alcohol | 9,819 | 10,071 | (252) | (2.5) |
| Distilled Fatty Acid | 9,698 | 14,194 | (4,496) | (31.7) |
| Lauryl-stearyl Alcohol | 8,009 | 2,498 | 5,511 | 220.7 |
| Others | 54,299 | 95,438 | (41,139) | (43.1) |
| Total | 114,098 | 176,579 | (62,481) | (35.4) |
For more info please contact Mrs Nur Adibah
Email : nuradibah@mpoc.org.my
*Disclaimer: This document has been prepared based on information from sources believed to be reliable but we do not make any representations as to its accuracy. This document is for information only and opinion expressed may be subject to change without notice and we will not accept any responsibility and shall not be held responsible for any loss or damage arising from or in respect of any use or misuse or reliance on the contents. We reserve our right to delete or edit any information on this site at any time at our absolute discretion without giving any prior notice.
