30/10/2012 (Jakarta Post) - Palm oil exports from Indonesia dropped 2.1 percent in September to the lowest level in three months as India and China reduced purchases of the most-used cooking oil, according to an industry group.

Shipments were 1.38 million metric tons, down from 1.41 million tons in August, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association said on Monday. That’s the lowest since June, when exports reached 1.25 million tons, and compares with 1.6 million tons estimated in a Bloomberg survey. In September 2011, sales were 1.6 million tons.

Palm, used in everything from biofuels to noodles, has suffered this year because of low demand and rising production in Indonesia and Malaysia, where reserves gained to a record level last month. Dorab Mistry, a director at Godrej International Ltd, told a conference on Oct. 16 that prices had yet to bottom out.

Exports to India, the biggest buyer, fell 9.5 percent to 507,460 tons last month and purchases by China dropped 8 percent to 205,730 tons, association data showed. Shipments to the European Union rose 29 percent to 339,280 tons, it said.

The January delivery contract fell 2.3 percent to 2,544 ringgit (US$831) a ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange at 4:19 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur. The most-active price, which hit 2,230 ringgit on Oct. 3, the lowest in three years — may drop to 2,200 ringgit within six weeks, Mistry told the conference.