Floods seen crippling December CPO supply

A file picture shows a worker inspecting the quality of palm oil fruits. Floods in key palm growing areas would hinder harvesting, transportation and crushing of fresh palm fruits. — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Severe monsoon flooding in Malaysia that has forced more than a hundred thousand people to evacuate, is likely to cause a bigger-than-expected disruption to crude palm oil (CPO) production in the world’s No. 2 producer, planters and traders said.

This will give legs to the recovery in benchmark Malaysian palm oil prices, which plunged to their five-year lows of RM1,914 three months ago on fears of overwhelming supplies of rival oilseeds, and took another beating in early December from a slide in crude oil prices.