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Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Monday due to concerns that a resurgence in cases of the novel coronavirus would hit demand, while uncertainty over production further dented sentiment.

Demand has fallen off a cliff in India since the prime minister, Narendra Modi, imposed a countrywide lockdown on 24 March to contain the pandemic. That has shuttered restaurants and hotels, major consumers of the oil.

MOP deliveries to Malaysia are accelerating from a slow start to the year, as restocking ramps up after a protracted MOP tender season. But the Covid-19 pandemic has restricted logistics, trade and food supply in Malaysia, and Argus expects a fall in MOP application overall this year, limiting any jump in 2020 imports.

A pilot to extend oil palm cultivation to new districts in the State has taken off with planting of oil palm saplings over 98 acres.

Uptrend continued in soya and other oils on strong global cues and increased demand for palm oil. The closure of most of the plants in Madhya Pradesh also added to the uptrend in soya oil. Soya refined Indore (Avi) rose to ₹855 for 10 kg, while soya refined (Vippy & Bajrang) was quoted at ₹852

Sri Lankan shares closed higher for a fifth straight session on Monday, driven by gains in financial and consumer staples stocks.

At the start of 2020, positive fundamentals shaped the palm oil market. Global demand for the oil was on the upswing, with consumption increasing at more than twice the rate of production.

More than half a decade after abandoning the US-led multilateral programme, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Thailand has finally got back on track to joining the grouping again

Oil prices nudged higher on Monday on tighter supplies from major producers, but concerns that a record rise in global coronavirus cases could curb a recovery in fuel demand checked gains.

Shortage of labour is an urgent problem as plantations which produce a perishable crop are starting to see some uptake of palm oil from the two top buyers – India and China.

Refiners in the top crude-importing region have been forced to accept big reductions in their regular contracted volumes from producers including Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the past couple of months

FGV Holdings Bhd will sell another RM150 million worth of non-core assets this year including the on going sale of Asian Plantations Ltd and Trurich Resources Sdn Bhd.