Exports rose to 1.84 million metric tonnes from 1.79 million tonnes in June, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, known as Gapki, said in a statement today. That compares with the median of 1.8 million tonnes in a Bloomberg survey published on August 18 and 1.6 million tonnes in July 2013.

Palm entered a bear market last month as favourable weather boosted prospects for the US soybean crop, which is predicted by the US government to be the largest ever. Both oils are used in foods. Futures in Kuala Lumpur dropped to the lowest since March 2009 today amid speculation that supplies will rise.

Palm oil for delivery in November fell as much as 2.3 per cent to RM1,954 (US$618) a tonne on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives before reversing to show a 0.6 per cent gain by 4:27 pm local time. Prices declined 24 per cent this year.

Exports to African countries jumped to 175,000 tonnes from 102,000 tonnes in June, Gapki data showed. Sales to India rose 2.7 per cent to 407,790 tonnes, while shipments to China fell 27 per cent to 138,000 tonnes, the data showed. — Bloomberg