Palm Oil Sector Remains ‘Bullish’ Towards 2026, CPO Above RM4,000 — Johari

PETALING JAYA, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- The palm oil sector in Malaysia is expected to remain stable by 2026, in line with the rebound in soybean oil prices that will narrow the large price gap between the two oils, said Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

He said the recovery in soybean oil prices would strengthen Malaysia’s palm oil sector.

“So, the price gap between soybean oil and palm oil has become small," he told reporters after an industry dialogue with palm oil buyers from China, here today.

Johari also said that the price of crude palm oil (CPO) is expected to trade above RM4,000 per tonne by the end of the year.

“Today, the price of CPO is still above RM4,200 per tonne. It is normal for the market to fluctuate up and down. We remain confident that the price will trade above RM4,000 per tonne, and we are quite bullish on this outlook," he said.

He also noted that Malaysia remains focused on increasing palm oil yield, using good planting material  and avoiding deforestation.

bootstrap slideshow

"We also focus on turning palm oil waste into a circular economy, such as using empty fruit bunches (EFB) as feedstock for renewable energy and used cooking oil (UCO) for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)," said Johari.

In other developments, Johari said the floods occurring nationwide did not affect palm oil production.

“Currently, we have not received any reports (on floods) yet. My concern is for the smallholders, as such situations could affect them and be costly, impacting their revenue and income. But for now, the palm oil sector is still okay," he added.

Malaysia remains the second-largest palm oil producer in the world, behind Indonesia. So far, Malaysia has produced 19.4 million tonnes of palm oil compared to 50 million tonnes by Indonesia.

-- BERNAMA