26/02/2009 (The Star Online), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia’s earnings from palm oil exports, which stood at RM65 billion last year, is expected to drop this year due to a slowdown in demand.

Plantations, Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin said while it would be preferable to maintain earnings this year, indications show that exports would come down a bit this year.

He told reporters Thursday that stocks of palm oil is expected to fall further this year on reduced production.

Chin said stocks stood at 2.3 million tonnes last November and stood at 1.8 million tonnes last month.

He said the trend in the price of crude palm oil for the year would be clearer in June.

“Its too early to say now,” Chin said.