Indonesia’s January palm oil inventories rise by 14% as exports drop

Indonesia’s palm oil inventory at the end of January rose by 13.98% from the previous month despite a drop in production, as exports fell to a four-month low, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed on Thursday.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, exported 1.96 million metric tonnes of palm oil products including refined palm oil and oleochemical in January, down from 2.06 million tonnes shipped in December. Export fell by 30% from a year earlier.

The decline in exports was due to lower demand from major buyers including India, China and Pakistan, GAPKI said in a statement.

Indonesia’s crude palm oil output in January was 3.83 million tonnes, slightly below 3.88 million tonnes produced in December.