Malaysian palm oil exports cross 1.1 million tonnes in April

13-May-2025 03:04 PM

Kuala Lumpur. The export performance of Malaysian palm oil products in April 2025 showed improvement due to a notable increase in crude palm oil (CPO) production, slight softening of prices, and steady demand from some importing countries.

According to the latest monthly report from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (Ampob), CPO production in Malaysia rose by 21.52 percent in April compared to March, reaching a high of 16.80 lakh tonnes.

This surge indicates that the peak CPO production season has begun. However, if export performance does not continue to improve, the build-up of surplus stock may exert downward pressure on prices.

Ampob’s report highlights that Malaysia's palm oil stockpile is growing. The total surplus stock of palm oil increased by 19.37 percent to 18.66 lakh tonnes at the end of April compared to the end of March.

Within this, the stock of crude palm oil rose sharply by 34.83 percent to 10.51 lakh tonnes, while the surplus of refined palm oil or palmolein grew by 4 percent to 8.15 lakh tonnes.

Additionally, palm kernel oil stocks climbed by 13.61 percent to over 3.07 lakh tonnes. However, export activity remained somewhat moderate in comparison to the growth in production.

Palm oil exports from Malaysia improved to just over 11.02 lakh tonnes in April, an increase of 9.62 percent over March shipments.

Despite this rise, the increase was limited when weighed against the steep production jump, and domestic consumption did not see any substantial rise.

This resulted in a noticeable increase in surplus stocks. According to trade analysts, although the uptick in exports helped to some extent, the persistently high level of surplus stock could place continued pressure on benchmark CPO futures prices.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s overseas imports of palm oil fell significantly by 52.17 percent in April to 58,292 tonnes, further highlighting the domestic oversupply situation.