KUALA LUMPUR: SD Guthrie Bhd
, one of the world’s largest palm oil producers, yesterday warned that dry weather in Malaysia could curb its first-quarter production growth after a robust December quarter.
Higher output in the December quarter pushed inventories in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, to a near seven-year high at the end of 2025, weighing on prices.
Slower production growth could help ease stockpiles and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.
SD Guthrie is projecting 2% production growth in the first quarter of financial year 2026 (1Q26) compared to the same period a year earlier, but the current dry spell could undermine that target, group managing director Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad told Reuters at an industry conference.
“We have not had rains for a while and we are coming into a low production period anyway.
“So we fear, at least in 1Q25, production might disappoint,” he said.
Furthermore, in 1Q26, SD Guthrie reported crude palm oil production of 507,000 tonnes and fresh fruit bunches of 2.01 million tonnes.
“We had a good year last year and I think for this year we are a bit concerned with the weather, and what we are seeing right now is very dry weather,” he said, adding lower production would support prices after last year’s rise in stocks. — Reuters
