*
Inventories fell more than expected
*
Production hit 1-year low
*
Exports falls to lowest in 10 months
(Adds bullet, analyst's comment)
By Mei Mei Chu
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Reuters) - Malaysia's
end-February palm oil inventories tumbled to the lowest in six
months as production and imports plummeted, data issued by the
nation's palm oil board showed on Friday.
Stockpiles fell 6.56% from January to 2.12 million tonnes,
the lowest since August, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil
Board (MPOB) .
Hammered by seasonal flooding, crude palm oil production
shrank to a one-year low. Output in the world's second-largest
producer fell 9.35% to 1.25 million tonnes, down for a fourth
month .
Exports slipped 1.99% to a 10-month low of 1.11 million
tonnes . Imports fell 63.8%.
"Stocks fell lower than expected after a rise in domestic
use," said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil
Analytics.
Large government spending on food items for flood
victims likely to have boosted domestic consumption of palm oil,
in addition to higher consumption during the Chinese New Year
festivities, he said.
Inventories could fall below 2 million tonnes by the end of April, as exports climb after Indonesia restricted overseas sales, Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir, director general of MPOB told Reuters this week. Following is a breakdown of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board figures and Reuters estimates for February (volumes in tonnes) :
Feb 2023 Feb 2023 poll Jan 2023* Feb 2022
Output 1,251,313 1,261,000 1,380,410 1,137,460
Stocks 2,119,509 2,206,039 2,268,198 1,518,238
Exports 1,114,343 1,138,749 1,137,005 1,108,576
Imports 52,446 86,000 144,937 149,793
*indicates revised figures by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Ed Davies, Martin Petty)
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