Bisnis Indonesia, 5 March 2019
The benchmark crude palm oil (CPO) contract for May delivery at the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1.83% or 40.00 points to 2,149 ringgit per metric ton on Monday (March 4). Global CPO oversupply had allegedly caused the price fall. Palm oil industry analyst Thomas Mielke estimated global CPO production to hit 74.9 million metric tons in 2018-2019, up from 70.5 million metric tons in 2017-2018, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Nevertheless, Mielke estimated CPO price to soar this year. He also estimated biodiesel fuel production in 2019 to consume 18.3 million metric tons of palm oil. In addition, both China and India will increase their palm oil imports.