HAMBURG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Palm
oil’s competitive price against other vegetable oils means palm is likely to
win more sales in coming months in markets including India, Europe, China and
even the United States, Oil World said on Tuesday.
“The preconditions for the demand of
palm oil and its sister product palmkernel oil are unusually favourable for the
remainder of this season, given waning competition from other vegetable oils,”
Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
Malaysian fob export prices for
refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil were around $270 a tonne cheaper than
Argentine soyoil export prices in the past week, Oil World said.
This is down from $330 in December
but still makes palm oil attractive compared with seed-based edible oils such
as soyoil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, it said.
Global October 2012/September 2013
palm oil imports are likely to rise to 42.7 million tonnes from 40.2 million
tonnes in the same period a year previously, Oil World estimates.
Among major buyers is likely to be
India, which may raise palm and palmkernel oil demand this season by 0.7
million tonnes, Oil World said.
The European Union is likely to cut
seed oil consumption by 0.3-0.4 million tonnes this season and raise
consumption of palm oil and palmkernel oil by roughly 0.5 million tonnes, it
said.
“In China, the consumption of palm
oil and palmkernel oil may show a relatively moderate increase of 0.3-0.4
million tonnes this season given the country’s strong focus on oilseed imports
and crushings to satisfy its (animal feed) protein requirements,” it said.
The United States may also raise
palm oil imports by 0.1 million tonnes, especially for biodiesel, but this may
depend on U.S. rules about sustainable palm oil production, it said.
