Malaysia’s palm oil exports during March 1-15 totalled 381,790 tonnes compared with 422,425 tonnes the preceding month due to lower purchases from key destination markets, according to figures from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).The figure excludes shipments of soft oils, coconut oils and used cooking oil (UCO), with the volume down by 10%, or 40,635 tonnes, from the February 1-5 period.
Palm oil exports to India rose by 13%, or 7,570 tonnes, to 64,320 tonnes compared with the same period of February due to higher crude palm oil (CPO), exports which rose to 60,820 tonnes from 55,250 tonnes the month prior.
Exports to Pakistan fell to zero compared with 21,000 tonnes a month ago, while exports to Sri Lanka fell to zero from 3,000 tonnes compared with a month earlier.
Exports to the Middle East were down by 58%, dropping 32,600 tonnes from February to 23,400 tonnes in the first fifteen days of March. The earlier increase in February was due to restocking based on pre-Ramadan demand.
Chinese demand lower due to competitive soybean oil prices
Meanwhile, supplies to China were down by 14,140 tonnes, or 64%, to 7,900 tonnes compared with the same period in February. The Chinese imports mainly comprised palm acid oil (PAO) and palm stearin.
China typically imports PAO for animal feed, biodiesel feedstock, distillation of fatty acids and the making of laundry detergent and stearin for the
oleochemicals energy.
Chinese demand for Malaysian olein has been soft due to negative import margins and soybean oil being cheaper compared to palm oil, sources told Fastmarkets.
Malaysian exports to the European Union doubled, jumping by 63,144 tonnes to 116,259 tonnes compared with the previous month.
The increase in shipments to the EU was largely due to higher palm oil mill effluent (POME), a waste product used mainly as feedstock for biofuel production and fertilizers, to the EU, which nearly tripled from 13,025 tonnes to 34,630 tonnes a month earlier.
CPO shipments were also instrumenting in supporting higher exports to the EU, rising by 9,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes compared with 11,000 tonnes in February.
Exports to the African continent fell by 26% month on month, on a sharp dive in exports to South Africa, which fell by 87%, or 10,900 tonnes, to 12,500 tonnes compared with the preceding month.
Malaysia also exported 96,821 tonnes of palm oil to Asia Oceania, up by 38%, or 26,651 tonnes, from 70,170 tonnes in the previous month. The Philippines was the top destination at 40,870 tonnes, with Japan at 32,620 tonnes.
More than half of the total volume to the Asia Oceania region consisted of RBD palm olein at 61,015 tonnes, nearly doubling from the previous month’s volume at 44,870 tonnes, while exports of RBD palm oil rose to 13,440 tonnes, compared with 9,710 tonnes in the previous month.
Malaysia exported 33,622 tonnes of used cooking oil during March 1-15, a sharp rise of 10%, or 3,072 tonnes, from 30,550 tonnes a month earlier, with volumes mainly headed to the United States at 16,900 tonnes and Singapore at 15,050 tonnes.
