News in brief: Global palm oil demand has surged due to disruptions in rival oil supplies, helping Indonesia and Malaysia reduce domestic stockpiles. India’s palm oil imports have risen by almost 60%, while China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are also increasing their palm oil purchases.
The global demand for palm oil has seen significant increase, after recent price jumps in rival oils caused by supply disruptions in the Black Sea region.
According to a Reuters coverage, the development is expected to help Indonesia and Malaysia reduce their domestic stock while increasing the latter’s palm oil futures.
India, the worldâs biggest buyer of edible oils, imported 1.09 million metric tons (MMT) of palm oil in July 2023, which is nearly 60% more than the previous month and the highest in past seven months. Its imports are projected to remain robust during August and September.
The news report says that a ton of crude palm oil sells at $910, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), compared to $1,050 for crude soy oil and $1,010 for crude sunflower oil.
Prices of soy oil rose in July based on production concerns in the US and lower supplies from top exporting country, Argentina. Sunflower prices increased significantly after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grains deal. The Black Sea region is responsible for 60% of global sunflower oil outputs and 76% of exports come from there.
Other countries that have also been increasing palm oil purchases for August and September shipments, include China, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
China’s vegetable oil imports, which consists mainly of palm oil, jumped 48% from 2022 to 778,000 tons. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the countryâs palm oil exports rose 15.55% to 1.35 million tons in July and its palm oil products exports rose 17.5% to 383,795 tons.
