27.11.2018 (Indiainfoline) - The Malaysian government is optimistic over the predicted performance of palm oil in 2019, despite the current challenges faced by the industry.

Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok acknowledged that the cost of production had been slowly creeping up due to higher input costs and rising wages for plantation workers.

She said palm oil prices had progressively fallen, especially in the past three months, which she attributed to the overall rising outputs in the two largest producing countries - Indonesia and Malaysia. Other reasons are higher stock levels and lower imports among some of the major importing countries.However, Kok pointed out that palm oil was not the only oil with languishing prices, production and trade challenges.

She said oversupply and overall low demand had affected the prices of other competing vegetable oils too.