14/08/2008 (Commodity Online) - India and Pakistan is set to help Malaysia increase its palm oil exports with the festival season beginning in both the countries in September. To add to that, Malaysia is all set to have a bumper palm oil production.

According to reports, Malaysia expects palm oil exports in 2008 to grow at least 7.3% on the back of higher output and rising overseas demand.

Minister for plantation industries and commodities Peter Chin said exports are expected to rise to 14.7 million tonnes this year from 13.7 million tonnes a year ago.

Traders said exports may surpass the government’s projection as demand from the Middle East, Pakistan and India may rise during the upcoming festival season of Ramadan and Diwali. Shipments during the January-July period rose 16.2% on year to 8.33 million tonnes.

Chin said palm oil production this year is projected to be 17 million tonnes compared with 15.8 million tonnes last year.

Government had first projected an output of 16.2 million tonnes for this year, which was revised to 16.5 million tonnes, followed by the latest forecast. Malaysia’s palm oil production has been rising steadily since March on increase in matured oil palm areas, higher yield of fresh fruit bunches and improvement in oil extraction rate.

The growth momentum is expected to be maintained during the peak production months of August and September.

Growers and palm oil industry analysts expect production to exceed 17.5 million tonnes.

India’s edible oil imports in July fell 3% to 532,456 metric tonnes from 548,908 tonnes during the year-earlier period, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said.

However, in the oil marketing year that began in November, edible oil imports as of July totaled 3.6 million tonnes, up on year from 3.3 million tonnes.

While crude palm oil imports during the first nine months of the oil year rose 38% to 2.9 million tonnes, soyoil imports during the period declined to 418,899 tonnes from 886,320 tonnes a year earlier.