KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has begun slashing crude palm oil (CPO) imports to manage its stock levels and prevent prices from falling.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said on Tuesday it was projected that CPO stocks in Malaysia would hit three million tonnes if no measures were taken.
He said the move to cut imports was among the steps to keep stocks at a "comfortable level" of about two million tonnes.
"One of the responsibilities of the government is to see how we can manage our stocks.
"There is a projection that the stocks might reach three million tonnes by November.
"Then, most likely prices will come down because it will mean that there is an overstock in the country," he said during a press conference.
He declined to explain further on how imports would be cut, and the timeline of how long this would be done.
He said, however that existing long-term contracts would continue, and it would be done on a case by case basis.
He said the government was also taking other measures to manage the CPO stock including increasing the biodiesel consumption and implementing a replanting incentive scheme effective Oct 1.
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