Malaysian Palm Oil Exports Fall In Volume But Rise In Value In H1 2025

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has released figures on palm oil export performance for the period from January to June 2025, showing total export volumes of 6.95 million tonnes, down 7.7% compared with 7.54 million tonnes in the same period of 2024. Despite this decline in volume, the total value of exports rose 7.2% to reach 33.99 billion ringgit, up from 31.72 billion ringgit in the first half of last year.

Export Performance By Country:

• India: remained the largest market for Malaysian palm oil despite a sharp 29% drop in exports, which fell to 1.03 million tonnes from 1.46 million tonnes in 2024.
• China: recorded a steep decline of 38.3%, with imports totalling 405,792 tonnes compared with 658,157 tonnes last year.
• European Union: saw a 23% fall in import volumes, down to 502,655 tonnes from 652,736 tonnes.
• Kenya: emerged as the standout among developing markets for Malaysian palm oil exports, with imports rising 15.2% to 523,495 tonnes.
• Turkey: recorded an 8.2% increase, importing 396,202 tonnes compared with 366,032 tonnes in the same period of 2024.

Analysis:

The decline in export volumes reflects several possible factors, including regulatory and trade challenges in major markets such as India and China, as well as competition from other sources. Nevertheless, the rise in value points to an improvement in palm oil prices during the period, which helped offset the impact of the volume decline on overall revenue. In addition, palm oil's price premium over soybean oil for a period led some buyers to switch to soybean oil as an alternative.

Markets such as Kenya and Turkey are emerging as growing players in Malaysian palm oil imports, pointing to a possible strategic shift towards market diversification and reduced reliance on traditional markets, which have been subject to fluctuating trade policies.

Source: Al Mal Forum