Indonesia: Palm oil production in top Asian producers to remain tight in 2023

Palm oil production in the world’s largest producers, Indonesia and Malaysia, will remain squeezed this year amid anticipation of rising demand from key market China, industry officials said in a seminar. The two Southeast Asian nations account for around 85% of the world’s exports, but output have been stagnant in recent years due to a pandemic-induced labour shortage, low fertiliser application and slow expansion of new estates. “After yet another disappointing year in 2022, the market expects palm oil output to increase in 2023 by around 2.5 million tonnes, led by Indonesia,” said Julian McGill, regional head at agribusiness consultancy LMC International. But this will not translate into much availability of palm oil for exports due to greater domestic processing in Indonesia, including the move to a higher biodiesel mandate, he said. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) pegged the nation’s 2023 production to rise marginally to 19 million tonnes, from 18.45 million tonnes in ...