KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil production in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer of the edible oil, will rise by 3 percent in 2018, an industry body forecast on Thursday. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) expects production to climb to 20.5 million tonnes from 19.9 million tonnes produced in 2017, the group’s Director General Ahmad Kushairi said at an industry conference.
Malaysia’s exports are forecast to increase 5.1 percent to 17.4 million tonnes this year, while palm oil stockpiles are expected to drop 15.8 percent to 2.3 million tones.