Measures needed to safeguard CPO prices

Fast action: Workers load palm oil fruits onto a lorry in a palm oil factory in Selangor. If Malaysia’s rising stockpile is left unchecked, the sector could run the risk of ending the CPO price rally prematurely.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s palm oil may be losing price competitiveness as stockpile data reveals creeping imports and declining exports.

Amidst Indonesia’s revamped progressive tax rate, which came into effect last December, Malaysia saw the import of palm oil rising 74% year-on-year (y-o-y), while exports declined 7% y-o-y for the January-April 2021 period.