Malaysia’s palm oil demand set to surge to 19.85m tonnes in 2023

The expected demand for palm oil in Malaysia is predicted to rise from 19.01 million tonnes in 2022 to 19.85 million tonnes in the current year. Moreover, the exports of palm oil are projected to increase from 15.73 million tonnes to 16.44 million tonnes in the same period.

According to Sudhakar Desai, Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association president, the remaining demand is expected to come from the usage of biodiesel production (440,000 tonnes) and domestic sources (2.98 million tonnes). Malaysia’s palm oil industry is expected to benefit from increased export demand, primarily from India, and a change in demand for palm oil from Indonesia due to export restrictions. This should help to reduce stock levels in Malaysia. It is predicted that by the end of 2023, Malaysia’s palm oil stock will be around 4.33 million tonnes, slightly higher than the previous year’s level of 4.22 million tonnes. Additionally, it is expected that palm oil production in Malaysia will increase moderately by 2.6% to reach 18.95 million tonnes this year.

The combined production of Malaysia and Indonesia is predicted to hit 68.72 million tonnes by 2023, with exports estimated at 44.63 million tonnes. Indonesia alone will provide 57.09 million tonnes of total palm oil production. On a worldwide level, the demand for palm oil is expected to increase by 10% from 2021/2022 to 79.22 million tonnes in 2022/2023. Conversely, the global demand for soybeans is projected to decline by 0.3% to 60.19 million tonnes.