Palm Oil Prices Likely To Stay Above RM4,400 A Tonne Until Year-end - MPOC
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) expects palm oil prices to remain steady above RM4,400 per tonne towards end of 2025, amid weak crude oil prices and high vegetable oil inventories in major consuming markets such as China and India.
It said the intensifying United States (US)-China trade tensions, and a buildup in global soybean stocks would also drive the price movement.
Meanwhile, it said the vegetable oil prices are anticipated to remain firm through the remainder of 2025, supported by strength in palm and soybean oil.
“Diminishing exportable soybean oil supplies from Argentina are likely to lift prices in the coming months, while ongoing speculation over Indonesia’s B50 mandate will continue to lend support to palm oil,” it said in a statement.
MPOC said palm oil has once again traded at a premium to soyabean oil in the global market, with prices as of mid-October standing at US$42 a tonne higher in Europe and US$26 a tonne higher in India, reversing the brief discount period seen between April and September.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose by 102,000 tonnes, or 7.7 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m), to 1.42 million tonnes in September, with most regions recording gains except the European Union and Asia Pacific.
MPOC said the largest improvement came from South Asia, where exports to India reached 312,000 tonnes, the highest in 11 months, while shipments to Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, the Americas and Central Asia also increased during the month.
“Palm oil stocks in September climbed to 2.36 million tonnes, the highest in 22 months, even though export growth outpaced production.
“The increase was largely driven by domestic consumption normalising to its usual range of 300,000 tonnes per month to 350,000 tonnes per month, after reaching a record monthly high of 499,000 tonnes in August,” MPOC said.
It said imports also rose by 20,000 tonnes (+33.9 per cent m-o-m), further contributing to the stock buildup.
-- BERNAMA