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NEW DELHI, March 17 — India has dropped at least three crucial policy initiatives, including lowering import taxes on vegetable oils, as the outbreak of the coronavirus hits government revenue collection, two sources said on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 - Malaysian palm oil futures jumped on Wednesday on supply concerns after plantations were forced to shut their operations for two weeks to comply with government orders as the country tries to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

MOST of the accounting fair value (FV) losses experienced by the plantation industry in the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) “will likely reverse and be recognised as accounting profits” this year.

India, which has been battling a financial crisis long before coronavirus became a substantial threat, could see the economy shrink further due to the fast-spreading virus.

Malaysian palm oil futures closed more than 2% lower on Monday as the rapid spread of the coronavirus globally raised concerns over lower demand.

Most plantation companies are slowing down their capital expenditure for palm oil mills on the back of falling crude palm oil (CPO) prices and economic uncertainties over Covid-19, analysts note, following a meeting with CB Industrial Product Holding Bhd (CB Industrial) recently.

ICE Canadian canola futures rose on Friday. The market rose on traders with short positions taking profits and was also supported by limited hedge pressure as farmers are not currently active sellers to commercial buyers, a trader said. May canola gained $2.60 to settle at $453.60 per tonne.

Palm plantations in Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer of the commodity, must be allowed to operate during the two weeks of movement curbs ordered to rein in the spread of a coronavirus, a group of growers said on Tuesday.

Downgrade to neutral: Crude palm oil (CPO) prices had seen a strong recovery since August 2019 after a lacklustre performance for two years as markets were anticipating a sharp decline in fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production due to prolonged dry weather and lack of fertiliser application by planters due to financial constraint

Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday as fears of the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak stoked demand worries, though a weaker ringgit limited losses.

The Malaysian government has lowered the tax on crude palm oil exports in April to 5% from 6% in March.

VEGETABLE oil imports fell 10.5 per cent to 11.12 lakh tonnes last month, mainly due to lower shipments of refined palm oil, according to industry data. Import of vegetable oil during February 2020