Performance of Malaysian Palm Oil Industry on October 2010

	SEPTEMBER(r)	OCTOBER(p)	DIFFERENCE
			QUANTITY	(%)
PRODUCTION (Tonnes)
CRUDE PALM OIL
P. Malaysia	866,790	895,859	29,069	3.35
Sabah	472,983	507,820	34,837	7.37
Sarawak	223,139	232,881	9,742	4.37
Total	1,562,912	1,636,560	73,648	4.71
PALM KERNEL	395,455	407,378	11,923	3.02
CRUDE PALM KERNEL OIL	167,121	206,933	39,812	23.82
PALM KERNEL CAKE	184,964	229,573	44,609	24.12
STOCK (Tonnes)
CRUDE PALM OIL
P. Malaysia	456,441	472,303	15,862	3.48
Sabah	325,364	351,796	26,432	8.12
Sarawak	147,420	144,166	(3,254)	(2.21)
Total	929,225	968,265	39,040	4.20
PROCESSED PALM OIL
P. Malaysia	382,949	437,299	54,350	14.19
Sabah	303,246	305,394	2,148	0.71
Sarawak	94,493	81,882	(12,611)	(13.35)
Total	780,688	824,575	43,887	5.62
TOTAL PALM OIL
P. Malaysia	839,390	909,602	70,212	8.36
Sabah	628,610	657,190	28,580	4.55
Sarawak	241,913	226,048	(15,865)	(6.56)
Total	1,709,913	1,792,840	82,927	4.85
PALM KERNEL	156,286	118,784	(37,502)	(24.00)
CRUDE PALM KERNEL OIL	137,204	154,209	17,005	12.39
PROCESSED PALM KERNEL OIL	108,956	124,797	15,841	14.54
TOTAL PALM KERNEL OIL	246,160	279,006	32,846	13.34
PALM KERNEL CAKE	226,248	232,290	6,042	2.67
EXPORT
PALM OIL	1,469,005	1,460,241	(8,764)	(0.60)
PALM KERNEL OIL	114,503	88,962	(25,540)	(22.31)
PALM KERNEL CAKE	252,749	257,612	4,863	1.92
OLEOCHEMICAL	171,950	177,450	5,500	3.20
BIODIESEL	10,011	0	(10,011)	(100.00)
IMPORT (TONNES)(q) Import
CRUDE PALM OIL	85,526	62,476	(23,050)	(26.95)
PROCESSED PALM OIL	0	7,819	7,819	0.00
PALM OIL	85,526	70,295	(15,231)	(17.81)
TOTAL PALM KERNEL OIL	36,156	30,878	(5,278)	(14.60)
PRICE (1% OER) (Local Ex-Mill) )
FFB (AVERAGE RM/TONNE)	29.38	31.44	2.06	7.01

Explanatory Notes:
(p)	Preliminary
(q)	The import and export figures are based on information extracted from Customs No. 1 and 2 (Rev. 8/89) received up to 10.00 a.m., 10 November 2010. The export date refers to that as authorised by the Customs Department.
(r)	The figures for the month of September 2010 are revised by taking into account corrections made by the licensees and from late receipt of Customs No. 1 and 2 (Rev. 8/89) after 11 October 2010.
(s)	It refers to the total physical amount of crude and processed palm oil kept at the premises of mills, refineries, bulking installations, and oleochemical plants as at 31 October 2010.

Palm Oil Futures

Palm oil expected to hit RM3,600 in H1 next year

06/10/2010 (Business Times) - Palm oil prices can hit RM3,600 a tonne as soon as in the first half of next year, traders say, which would be their highest since 2008 as demand continues to be robust, while supply is hit by erratic weather.

"In the next six to nine months, palm oil prices should trade at around RM3,600 per tonne, if all fundamental factors remain the same," said NextView Sdn Bhd chief market strategist Benny Lee.

He attributed the increase in palm oil prices since July to a weaker US dollar and a stronger yuan.

The last time palm oil prices hit their all-time high, at RM4,486 per tonne, was in mid-2008.

Lee was presenting his take on palm oil price movement at the International Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar 2010 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

While he foresees several pullbacks and corrections in the pricing in the immediate weeks, Lee was of the view that it will move towards RM2,800 and possibly surpass RM2,950 by the end of the year.

Yesterday, palm oil futures on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange gained RM29 to close at RM2,705 per tonne. The day before, it fell to a two-week low due to sell-off in the grains markets after a report of huge US corn stockpiles.

India-based Transgraph Consulting Pvt Ltd chief executive officer P.V. Murali Krishna, also present at the event, was bullish on palm oil in the next six months.

"The current price strength is supported by a relative shortage in oil crop output as a result of erratic weather patterns. There's excess rain in the Indian continent but acute dryness in South America. North America has had experienced frost and Europe is not getting enough rain," he said.

Rapid urbanisation in China and India has resulted in lower agriculture activities, forcing these emerging economies to rely on vegetable oil imports.

Malaysia and Indonesia, the world biggest palm oil supplier, stand to gain from the increasing appetite for food from the world's two most populous nations.

"The focus is on Asia. China and India's robust economy and growing population is set to consume palm oil," Murali said.

Palm Oil Ends Up as Fall in Exports Slows

26/04/2010 (Flex News Food) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose 0.8 percent on Monday to a two-week high, tracking stronger soyoil and crude oil markets, after the latest trade data showed that a decline in Malaysia's palm oil exports slowed.

The benchmark July crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives gained 20 ringgit to 2,560 ringgit ($802.5) a tonne, off a high of 2,568 ringgit -- a level last seen on April 12.

Overall traded volume rose to 13,447 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual level around 10,000 lots.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-25 fell 15 percent to 947,304 tonnes from 1,114,035 tonnes shipped between March 1 to 25, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.

Another surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said palm oil shipments during the same period fell 9.9 percent, much slower than the drop of more than 30 percent reported in the first half of April.

Traders said crude palm oil futures may have limited upside this week as a firmer ringgit will cap gains.

"(The) ringgit is expected to remain strong and that will hit exports," said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader, adding that crude palm oil futures may hover around 2,500 to 2,600 ringgit for now.

A stronger ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for overseas buyers as the vegetable oil is priced in this currency.

The ringgit gained half a percent on Monday to 3.172 per dollar, the highest level since May 2008, as foreigners bought Malaysian assets on optimism about the country's economic recovery.

Oil hovered near $85 a barrel on Monday, supported by stronger economic sentiment as global stock markets rose but lingering doubts over Greece's debt crisis saw the U.S. dollar strengthen against the euro.

Other vegetable oil markets were also firmer. May soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade rose almost 1 percent in Asian hours and the most-active Jan soyoil delivery at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange inched up 0.2 percent.

INDONESIA PALM TRADES

In Indonesia, Jakarta-based PT KBN Nusantara, formerly known as the state marketing centre, sold all 8,250 tonnes of crude palm oil offered in an auction at a top price of 7,498 rupiah ($0.832) per kg on Monday, against 7,429 rupiah per kg on Friday.

Producers in Medan, home to Indonesia's main palm oil export port of Belawan, did not hold any auctions on Monday.

Refiners in Jakarta offered refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD) palm olein -- used as cooking oil -- at 7,850 rupiah per kg, against 7,800 rupiah per kg on Friday.

Meanwhile, PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk did not sell 1,500 tonnes of super palm kernel oil offered in an auction on Monday.

Astra Agro offered super PKO at $1,025 per tonne, FOB Pangkalan Dewa, while buyers bid at between $900-$1,002 per tonne.