One thing is clear – the labour crunch has led to the total planted area of oil palm declining in Malaysia. CPO yields have fallen to levels not seen since 1998.
“FIVE years ago if you told me that crude palm oil (CPO) prices were capable of hitting these numbers, I would have scoffed at you” says Kevin Lee, who has been trading CPO futures for many years.
Just this week, the price of CPO hit a historic high of RM5,750 per tonne due to supply constraints as well as Malaysia’s production woes brought about by acute labour shortages.CPO prices jumped 64% to average at RM4,407 per tonne amid tight supply of edible oil last year.
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