Malaysia’s palm oil stocks up 0.5% in May

Malaysia’s palm oil stocks edged up 0.5 per cent in May 2024 to 1.75 million tons compared to 1.74 million tons in April, Bernama reported on Monday citing the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

This increase was driven by a 1.59 per cent rise in crude palm oil (CPO) stocks, reaching 979,352 tons. Processed palm oil stocks, however, declined by 0.85 per cent to 774,192 tons.

CPO production surged by 13.48 per cent in May, reaching 1.70 million tons from 1.50 million tons the previous month. Palm kernel output also saw a significant increase of 11.13 per cent, reaching 408,318 tons from 367,420 tons.

Palm oil exports followed suit, rising by 11.66 per cent to 1.38 million tons in May compared to 1.23 million tons in April. This positive trend extended to oleochemical exports, which grew by 9.95 per cent to 256,348 tons.

However, biodiesel exports took a hit, dropping by 40.85 per cent to 20,880 tons in May from 35,298 tons in April. Palm kernel oil exports saw a modest increase of 2.24 per cent to 87,827 tons, while exports of palm kernel cake declined by 29.53 per cent to 147,006 tons.

Import figures for palm oil and processed palm oil products showed a significant decrease of 40.28 per cent in May, reaching 20,761 tons compared to 34,762 tons in April. Conversely, total palm kernel oil imports grew by 24.02 per cent to 15,842 tons.