Articles By Min Jie Yaw

Malaysia’s palm oil exports during March 1-15 totalled 381,790 tonnes compared with 422,425 tonnes the preceding month due to lower purchases from key destination markets, according to figures from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).

Malaysia’s palm oil exports during March 1-10 totaled 217,965 tonnes compared with 321,710 tonnes the preceding month due to lower purchases from key destination markets, according to figures from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).

New proposals by the US government to bring in higher port charges for China-built vessels entering US ports have caused growing concern in the freight market, with Fastmarkets gathering market views on the proposals before the deadline for submission of views on March 10.

Freight rates for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia were largely rangebound in the week ended Wednesday March 5 on a lack of booking discussions and limited enquiries.

Palm oil supply in the next two to three months is expected to be tight due to yields being affected by floods in Sabah in Malaysia and by Indonesia starting its newly increased biofuel mandate, palm industry experts said during the annual Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil conference in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Palm oil exports from Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, are expected to fall in 2025 on the back of higher domestic consumption despite higher production, a senior official from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) said on Wednesday February 26 at the annual Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Palm oil exports from Indonesia hit a 32-month low at 1.47 million tonnes in January, according to figures released by cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS) on Thursday February 20.

Freight rates for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia were stable to down in the week ended Wednesday February 12 on soft export demand, amidst plentiful tonnage spaces.

Malaysia’s palm oil exports during February 1-10 totaled 321,710 tonnes compared with 291,048 tonnes a month ago, on higher purchases from key destination markets, according to figures from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Freight rates for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia dropped further in the week ended Wednesday February 12 on still weak export demand and reduced production.

Indonesia exported less palm oil in 2024 versus a year earlier, excluding shipments of used cooking oil (UCO), soft oil and coconut oil, according to data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).

Freight sentiment for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia remained tepid in the week to Wednesday January 22 on still soft export demand, sources told Fastmarkets.

Malaysia lowered its crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for February to 4,817.70 ringgit ($1,072) per tonne, according to a circular issued by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) on Thursday January 16.

Freight for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia was stable to down in the week to Wednesday January 15 on unchanged fundamentals.

India imported 1.19 million tonnes of edible vegetable oils in December, down by 25.4% or 404,639 tonnes from November, the lowest level in three months, according to data released by the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) on Tuesday January 14.

Malaysia’s palm oil inventories at the end of December were reported at 1.71 million tonnes, 6.94% lower than November’s 1.84 million tonnes and the lowest level since March 2023, according to data released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) on Friday January 10.

Freight sentiment for vessels carrying palm oil cargoes within Asia softened in the week to Wednesday January 8 on weaker demand from palm oil charterers and abundant tonnage.

Malaysia exported more palm oil for the entirety of 2024 compared with 2023 levels, excluding shipments of used cooking oil (UCO), soft oil and coconut oil, according to data from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).

Indonesia’s palm oil exports hit a four-month high at 2.88 million tonnes in October, up by 27.8% from 2.26 million tonnes in September, according to the latest data published by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) on Tuesday December 24.

High palm oil stocks in key importing countries, relatively high prices of palm products versus other vegetable oils and uncertainty around European legislation all brought downward pressure to palm oil freight rates in 2024, as soft demand weighed on freight movements.