KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Malaysia’s crude palm oil (CPO) exports are expected to rise this year following an expected boost in production, said Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

She said in the past few years, palm oil production had increased in tandem with the ever-growing global demand.

“Last year’s CPO production was about 19.5 million tonnes, of which 16.5 billion tonnes were for exports.

“Production is normally about 20 million tonnes a year, and we expect it to be slightly higher this year,” she told reporters after launching the “Love My Palm Oil” campaign wall posters at Nexus Bangsar South here today.

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According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s data, CPO production for August increased 4.64 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) to 1.82 million tonnes from 1.74 million tonnes in July, while exports grew 16.37 per cent m-o-m to 1.73 million tonnes from 1.49 million tonnes previously.

Meanwhile, the country’s total palm oil inventory fell 5.31 per cent m-o-m to 2.25 million tonnes in August from 2.38 million tonnes previously.

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Kalyana Sundram said even though CPO exports had increased, the average earnings this year were slightly lower than 2018 due to lower average CPO price.

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He added that the main CPO importers were India, the European Union, China and Pakistan.

“CPO prices are increasing and we expect the trend to continue into the first quarter of 2020.

“It is currently around RM2,170 a tonne and we expect it to touch RM2,300 a tonne by December,” he added. — Bernama