CPO price premium over rivals is turning Malaysian palm oil’s key buyers to competing oils

Crude palm oil’s (CPO) continued premium over rival oils, such as soybean, is turning away Malaysian palm oil’s key buyers — India, the European Union and China — according to Gleanuk Economics. It said in a note on Tuesday, after palm oil stock data release, that exports were the lowest since February 2024, as elevated CPO prices, which averaged RM4,700 per metric ton (MT) year-to-date, led to sharply reduced demand from key buyers. Gleanuk said palm oil stock levels of 1.51 million tonnes in February 2025 were the lowest since March 2022, due to weak output and higher domestic consumption. It said this was widely expected, as palm oil mill effluent (POME) oil exports escalated in February, due to Indonesian’s export ban on “waste” oils. TA Securities in a separate note concurred, adding that the usual restocking activity ahead of Ramadan had been slower than anticipated, suggesting that Indian buyers may be turning to more affordable alternative oils instead of palm oil. It ...