NATIONAL crude palm oil (CPO) exports are expected to rise this year following a boost in production, said Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok today.

According to Kok, in the past few years, palm oil production has increased in tandem with growing global demand.

“CPO production last year was about 19.5 million tonnes, of which 16.5 million tonnes were for exports.

“Production is normally about 20 million tonnes a year, and we expect it to be slightly higher this year,” she told reporters after launching the Love My Palm Oil campaign wall posters at Nexus Bangsar South in Kuala Lumpur today.

According to Malaysian Palm Oil Board data, CPO production for August increased 4.64% month-on-month to 1.82 million tonnes from 1.74 million tonnes in July, while exports grew 16.37% to 1.73 million tonnes from 1.49 million tonnes previously.

Meanwhile, the country’s total palm oil inventory fell 5.31% to 2.25 million tonnes in August from 2.38 million tonnes over the same period.

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chief executive officer Dr Kalyana Sundram said even though CPO exports had increased, the average earnings this year were slightly lower than 2018 due to lower average CPO price.

He added that the main CPO importers were India, the European Union, China and Pakistan.

“CPO prices are increasing and we expect the trend to continue into the first quarter of 2020.

“It is currently around RM2,170 a tonne and we expect it to touch RM2,300 a tonne by December,” he added. – Bernama, September 10, 2019.