• Bloomberg reported that India is in talks with Malaysia about a long-term deal to buy palm oil and sell commodities such as wheat and rice. As part of the deal, Malaysia is also keen to boost exports of rubber and timber while India is seeking to sell more farm goods, including sugar and bovine meat. The agreement would be for a period of five years. A Malaysian government official said that the two countries are in early stages of discussions and no commitments have been made.

• Bloomberg cited GAPKI (Indonesian Palm Oil Association) as saying that stockpiles rose to 4.68mil tonnes in January from 4.13mil tonnes in the previous month. CPO production fell to 4.23mil tonnes in January from 4.36mil tonnes in December due to seasonal factors. Palm exports declined to 2.18mil tonnes in January from 2.46mil tonnes in December dragged by higher prices and lower production.

• Euractiv reported that some European retailers have started taking the drastic step of limiting the amount of sunflower oil per consumer amid ongoing fears that the war in Ukraine will cause food shortages and trigger panic buying. According to the European vegetable oil association, Fediol, available stocks of crude sunflower seed oil in the EU are estimated to last between four and six weeks with a shortfall of refined/bottled sunflower seed oil in the European market expected after that.

• Reuters reported that China’s soybean imports in 2M2022 were higher than last year. China brought in 13.94mil tonnes of soybeans in 2M2022, up 4.1% from 13.41mil tonnes in 2M2021. The market had expected smaller arrivals after the adverse weather in Brazil delayed harvesting. Soybean arrivals in March and April are expected to remain limited though as bad weather continues to affect crops and shipments from Brazil.

• Reuters also said that Egypt has banned exports of all kinds of vegetable oils and corn for three months starting 12 March. Egypt has also banned exports of lentils, pasta, wheat, flour and fava beans for three months starting 11 March.

• AFP reported that Argentina has suspended exports of soybean and soybean oil amid rumours that it is planning to raise taxes. An industry expert said that the export freeze was likely a measure to prevent firms registering for exports before the tax comes into effect. Industry sources claimed that the government is analysing the possibility of increasing the export tariffs to 33% from 31%.

Source: AmInvest Research - 21 Mar 2022