Record palm-oil exports from Indonesia, the world’s largest producer, in the first five months this year indicated “sharply higher world import requirements,” according to Oil World.

Shipments increased 28 percent to 9.1 million metric tons as low prices spurred demand from consumers in the food and energy industries, the Hamburg-based research company said in a report. Palm oil prices have fallen 21 percent in the past year as global supplies beat demand.

“Indonesian palm oil exports were surprisingly large,” Oil World said. “The substantial increase in palm oil exports is an indication that Indonesian stocks of palm oil declined significantly from the unusually high level registered at the end of 2012.”

In Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, crude palm oil output was a record 10.07 million tons this year through July, up 5.9 percent from the same period last year as exports climbed 10 percent in July alone from a year earlier, Oil World said. Buyers included China, Singapore, Vietnam, Russia and Egypt, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Pashley in London at apashley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter atccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Source : Bloomberg