Malaysia: Oilseeds and Products Update

Post is adjusting its MY 2021/22 crude palm oil (CPO) production forecast down 1.5 million metric tons (MT) from the USDA Official estimate to 18.2 million MT. Acute COVID-19 related labor issues are expected to negatively impact the Malaysian palm oil industry as the Government of Malaysia (GoM) has not finalized a decision to allow foreign workers to work in the sector. As the price of CPO is expected to stabilize in 2022, CPO export is forecast to recover slightly to 16.5 million tons, though this recovery will continue to be restrained by production limitations. CPO production for MY 2020/21 is revised slightly to 17.9 million MT. Exports for MY 2020/21 are revised to 15.5 million tons, a drop of 0.6 million tons from the USDA Official estimate, as all-time high CPO prices throughout 2021 prompt some buyers to switch from palm oil to other vegetable oils. Slower than expected recovery in global vegetable oil demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to low export demand for palm oil.