In W42 in the palm oil landscape, palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange experienced fluctuations. On Monday, October 16, the Jan-24 palm oil contract increased for the third consecutive session, closing at USD 790.18 per metric ton (mt), the highest in nearly three weeks, driven by a weaker Malaysian ringgit and rising exports. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products grew 5.6% month-on-month (MoM) to 606,980 mt between October 1 and 15. On Tuesday, palm oil futures rose 0.5% to USD 793.94/mt, supported by lower soybean oil prices in Chicago. On Thursday, palm oil futures continued rising by 0.81%, reaching USD 802.72/mt, their highest level in three weeks, thanks to the increasing prices of rival vegetable oils. However, on Friday, palm oil futures declined to USD 785.58/mt due to profit-taking activities.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has decided to keep the Nov-23 export tax on crude palm oil at 8% and reduced the reference price to USD 743.17/mt. Meanwhile, in Oct-23, the reference price is USD 775.44/mt. The export tax structure starts at 3% for crude palm oil prices ranging from USD 470.22 to USD 501.57/mt. The maximum tax rate is set at 8% when the price exceeds USD 721.00/mt.
In Myanmar, the wholesale price of edible palm oil decreased slightly, going from USD 6.83 per kilogram (kg) in W41 to USD 6.80/kg in W42. However, despite a wholesale price of over USD 1.90/kg, the retail market still maintains prices around USD 4.76 and USD 8.57/kg, with slight regional variations. These retail prices have remained relatively stable compared to the previous week.
Indonesia's President held discussions with the President of Sri Lanka on October 17 to enhance cooperation. President Widodo also sought Sri Lanka's support in lifting the ban on palm oil imports. He emphasized that palm oil is Indonesia's leading commodity, produced with environmental standards in mind.
The European Union (EU) witnessed a 6% year-on-year (YoY) decrease in palm oil imports in the 2023/24 campaign from July 2023 to the present. Similarly, India's palm oil imports dropped by 26% MoM in Sept-23, reaching a three-month low of 834,797 thousand mt. The reduction in India's palm oil imports may lead to increased inventories in Malaysia and Indonesia, the primary producer countries, potentially causing upward price pressure.
In contrast, Kyrgyzstan saw a 45% YoY increase in palm oil imports from Jan-23 to Aug-23. Moreover, import volumes over the first eight months of the year reached 2.2 thousand mt, with a 5.4% YoY increase in import value to USD 2.9 million. These imports were primarily sourced from Indonesia (807.7 mt) and Malaysia (731.6 mt).