08/03/2010 (The Malaysian Insider), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, the world’s No.2 palm oil supplier, has achieved just 17.9 per cent of its replanting target of 200,000 hectares announced at the end of 2008 to shore up prices, a minister said today.

Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said a total of 8,223 applications covering 205,306 hectares were approved for replanting but only 35,752 hectares were replanted by February this year.

“It is envisaged that the felling of 200,000 hectares will reduce the supply of 700,000 tonnes of palm oil annually,” Dompok told Reuters in an emailed response.

Traders said the lower-than-expected replanting could ease some tightness in Malaysian output and add a little downward pressure to benchmark palm oil futures, the best performing vegetable oil market so far this year.

“I think some planters are delaying the replanting because prices are very good and there are some tight supplies,” said a trader with a local commodities brokerage.

Traders had expected replanting to have reached one-third of the 200,000 hectare-target.