Malaysian oil palm estates largely spared from flooding as Southeast Asia experiences devastating rainfall

production coming in stronger than expected, attention now shifts to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) November and December data, which will determine whether the country can exceed its full-year CPO output forecast of 19.5 million tonnes. MPOB is set to release the November figures on Wednesday (Dec 10). “Overall production this year will be higher due to the delayed cropping pattern,” CGS International analyst Jacquelyn Yow tells The Edge. She expects CPO prices to remain range-bound in the near term. Industry experts contacted by The Edge expect CPO prices to hover between RM4,000 and RM4,330 per tonne this year. Bloomberg data shows third-month futures peaked at RM4,603 on Oct 9 before easing more than 10% to RM4,119 at the time of writing, partly due to China’s resumption of soybean oil imports from the US. Still, experts caution that persistent heavy rainfall could strain operations. Excessive moisture may impede pollination, slow harvesting and hinder evacuation of ...