Malaysian palm oil stockpiles reach record level in September after output surge
13/10/2026 (Oils & Fats International) - Palm oil inventories in Malaysia were expected to reach a record level in September following a surge in production the previous month, The Straits Times reported.
With El Niño weather conditions expected to disrupt production in 2027, the country’s high stock levels would help buffer supplies, the 5 October report said.
However, strong supplies could deepen a recent slump in prices, with traders waiting for exports to major markets like India to pick up to help reduce stockpiles, The Straits Times wrote.
Although Malaysian production typically peaked in September and October, higher-than-expected output growth had raised inventories, meaning prices were expected to remain under pressure at MYR4,300-4,500/tonne (US$1,050-1,100), Jacquelyn Yow, regional head of plantation research at CGS International, was quoted as saying.
“It’s a shock to the market that stockpiles would grow so suddenly,” she said.
On the day of the report, benchmark futures in Kuala Lumpur dropped from their September peak of MYR5,049 (US$ 1,234)/tonne and were trading near MYR4,535 (US$ 1,108.35)/tonne.
According to the median of 10 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of plantation executives, traders and analysts, stockpiles were expected to have increased by around 22% to 3.45M tonnes in September compared to the previous month.
That figure would be above the previous record of 3.22M tonnes reached in December 2018 and would be an increase of almost 50% since inventories started climbing in April.
Palm oil production in September surged by 16% to 2.11M tonnes, a record level for that month.