Indonesia palm oil exports likely edged down in Sept

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Friday, ending a four-day winning streak, as soyoil's weak performance on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) weighed.

JAKARTA: Indonesian exports of crude palm oil likely inched down in September from the month before, while output in the world's top producer of the commodity increased, a Reuters survey showed.

The drop in shipments came after key buyer India in mid-August doubled import duty on the vegetable oil to 15 percent.

"Exports were down marginally because of the increase in India's import tax," said Sahat Sinaga, executive director of Indonesia's Vegetable Oil Association (GIMNI).

Shipments of crude palm oil (CPO), used to churn out products ranging from chocolate to soap, likely eased to 2.69 million tonnes in September from 2.71 million tonnes in August, according to the median estimate in a survey of two industry associations and a state palm research firm.

Production was expected to have increased to 3.63 million tonnes from 3.59 million tonnes a month earlier, the survey showed.

Meanwhile, local consumption in the Southeast Asian nation likely climbed to 915,000 tonnes in September from 890,000 tonnes in August, according to the survey median.

Domestic stockpiles likely dropped to 2.4 million tonnes from 2.6 million the previous month.

Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) data showed the country exported 2.98 million tonnes of palm oil and palm kernel
oil in August. GAPKI data for September is not yet available.

The September survey comprised responses from the Indonesia Palm Oil Board, the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute and GIMNI.

Below is a table of the median responses to the Reuters CPO survey and GAPKI palm and palm kernel oil export data going back to 2015 (in million tonnes). - Reuters