BANDUNG, April 25 — Indonesia’s palm oil export ban is expected to be lifted in one or two months, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) said.
“Once the Indonesian President is satisfied (that) there is sufficient cooking oil to serve the masses, the export ban will be lifted,” the investment bank said in note today.
Last Friday, Joko Widodo announced Indonesia will ban palm oil exports from April 28, 2022 until further notice to ensure the fulfilment of domestic needs.
According to Maybank IB, the anticipated problem faced by growers and refiners will be insufficient storage capacity if the export ban is not lifted quickly.
The mills also cannot purchase fresh fruit bunches especially from the smallholders.
In fact, palm oil has a short shelf life once processed into crude palm oil, unlike oilseeds which can be kept for a year or two without losing too much quality.
Maybank IB said, currently, there are short-term negative knee-jerk reactions to plantation stocks with a relatively bigger presence in Indonesia, while Malaysia-centric planters will be the prime beneficiaries.
The futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives may also correct sharply when the export ban is lifted as Indonesia’s palm oil flood the global market amid the second-half seasonal harvest. — Bernama
