MPOB expects palm oil exports to recover in second half of 2025
"The demand, particularly from India, is due to the need to replenish stock for the festive season, attractive palm oil pricing and lower import duty on crude vegetable oils,' MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir told Bernama.
Ahmad Parveez was in New Delhi last week to speak at a conference organised by the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA).
In the first half of this year, Malaysian exports of palm oil and palm-based products dipped 7.4 per cent to 11.39 million tonnes compared with the January-June period last year, according to MPOB figures.
Palm oil exports were recorded at 6.95 million tonnes during the half-year period, representing a drop of 7.7 per cent over the corresponding period in 2024 as demand weakened in India, China, the European Union, Bangladesh and Egypt.
Nonetheless, despite a drop in the overall palm oil exports in the first half of 2025, Malaysia saw a growth in volumes to the Philippines, Iran, Kenya and Nigeria.
Ahmad Parveez said that although export tonnage had dropped, Malaysia's earnings from palm oil and palm products during the January-June 2025 period surged 9.3 per cent to RM53.43 billion compared with the same period last year. The value of palm oil exports was almost RM34 billion.
Malaysian palm oil has gained in geographical reach in recent years.
Malaysia's full-year palm oil exports by volume this year are projected to be 5.3 per cent lower than the 16.9 million tonnes recorded in 2024.
On the Indian market, Ahmad Parveez said demand remains particularly strong in the food services, household, and food manufacturing sectors.
However, there are certain challenges, and one of them is India's import tax.
"A key concern is India's import policy, particularly the frequent adjustments to import duties. The recent hike in effective duties on crude palm oil to 27.5 per cent, and on refined palmolein to 35.75 per cent, has significantly narrowed palm oil's natural price advantage compared to soft oils such as soybean and sunflower," Ahmad Parveez said.
"While we acknowledge India's policy objective to strengthen domestic oilseed production under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm, such measures have made palm oil imports increasingly cost-sensitive and less predictable," he said.
The price premium of palm oil, along with ample global soybean oil supplies, has led to a drop in palm oil's share in India's vegetable oil imports to 46 per cent this year from 59 per cent in 2023, Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chief executive officer Belvinder Sron said at the same New Delhi industry conference.
However, Malaysia's share in Indian palm oil imports reached 35 per cent in the first half of this year compared with 30 per cent in 2023, Sron said in her presentation. - Bernama
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