Palm oil expected to hit RM3,600 in H1 next year

Palm oil prices can hit RM3,600 a tonne as soon as in the first half of next year, traders say, which would be their highest since 2008 as demand continues to be robust, while supply is hit by erratic weather.

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Oil palm: 365,000 hectares to be replanted in 2011

October 29, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The government’s new replanting scheme will target 365,000 hectares of Oil palms older than 25 years as the world’s No.2 palm Oil producer tries to lift flagging output, a top industry official said on Friday. Industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) new chairman, Shahrir Samad, said the scheme would take two to three years to complete and the government had pledged RM297 million under the 2011 budget.

The scheme is the latest initiative to boost yields in  Malaysia, which has fallen behind top producer Indonesia in terms of output. An earlier industry-funded scheme to replant 200,000 hectares in 2008 in a bid to boost slumping prices was almost completed this year. I think we can easily achieve 17.5 million tonnes (in 2011) even with this new replanting scheme as there will be more young Oil palms coming into maturity,” Shahrir told  Reuters in his first interview with the foreign media as MPOB  chief.  Shahrir’s forecast was 4.9 per cent lower than the government’s production target of 18.4 million tonnes for next year and roughly the same as his projection of 17.5 million tonnes in 2010.

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