Palm oil stocks fall five pct to 1.92 mln tonnes in February

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's total palm oil stocks fell five per cent to 1.92 million tonnes at the end of February 2024 from 2.02 million tonnes in January 2024, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

In its latest industry performance report for February 2024, MPOB said crude palm oil (CPO) inventory decreased by 2.85 per cent to 1.03 million tonnes in the month versus 1.06 million tonnes recorded in January.

It said processed palm oil stocks also slipped by 7.35 per cent to 893,121 tonnes in February from 964,021 tonnes previously.

Meanwhile, CPO production contracted by 10.18 per cent to 1.26 million tonnes in February from 1.40 million tonnes in the preceding month, and palm kernel output declined by 11.70 per cent to 301,771 tonnes from 341,747 tonnes in January.

MPOB said palm oil exports slipped by 24.75 per cent to 1.02 million tonnes in February from 1.35 million tonnes in January, but oleochemical exports increased by 0.77 per cent to 255,163 tonnes in February from 253,204 tonnes previously.

Biodiesel exports eased 27.57 per cent to 29,378 tonnes in February from 40,559 tonnes in January.

Exports of palm kernel cake were down 41.14 per cent to 136,195 tonnes in February from 231,398 tonnes a month before, and palm kernel oil exports decreased by 18.84 per cent to 55,585 tonnes last month from 68,492 tonnes in January.

However, CPO imports surged 117.47 per cent to 8,592 tonnes in February from 3,951 tonnes in January, and total palm oil imports in the month went up by 10.38 per cent to 32,556 tonnes compared with 29,494 tonnes in the previous month.