Palm oil prices face 'large decline' as pandemic hammers exports

"Our current estimate is that China during its lockdown lost close to one month of demand compared with what one would have expected prior to COVID-19," Fry,(pic) chairman of consultancy LMC International, told Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil producers must brace for crude palm oil prices to fall sharply as coronavirus-led lockdowns around the world curb consumption and boost stocks, said leading industry analyst James Fry.

As the lockdowns shuttered restaurants, many industry players had expected that demand for palm oil, used in everything from instant noodles to shampoo, would remain relatively well supported.

But Fry's analysis of the demand destruction recorded in China - the number two palm importer and first country hit by the coronavirus outbreak - suggests there will be a "sizeable" hit to palm oil consumption.