KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil (CPO) futures prices are expected to stay at current levels, with sentiment dampened by higher stocks and output, said Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor.
"It will move between RM2,100 and RM2,220 a tonne till year-end," he told a press conference after the launch of the fourth Palm International Nutra-Cosmeceutical Conference 2015 here on Monday.
Last Friday, the October 2015 contract fell RM4 to close at RM2,120, September 2015 slipped RM7 to RM2,118 and November 2015 eased by RM2 to RM2,132 a tonne.
He said prices would also depend on the weather pattern, such as hot and dry spells, and could also reach a seasonal peak due to the festive season in big buyer China.
Commenting on Indonesia's new export levy, Lee said the palm oil sector would not see any significant impact on the earnings of local planters, but may boost future CPO prices and plantation profits.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed a regulation to impose a levy of US$50 a tonne on CPO exports and US$30 a tonne on processed palm oil exports.
Meanwhile, the threshold for the CPO export tax remains unchanged at US$750 a tonne.
"The current level of CPO prices is at RM2,100 and this (the tax) may also see our palm oil sector trend higher.
"The export levy is a good policy for Indonesia with its purpose being to help fund research on biodiesel subsidies," Lee said.
He said the new tax would make Malaysia's CPO look attractive and increase demand for local CPO-based products.
The two-day conference was launched by the Plantation and Commodities Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk M.Nagarajan, representing Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. - Bernama
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