Chinese Firms to Buy 1.62 Million Tons of Palm Oil from Malaysia

Three Chinese firms signed deals with four Malaysian companies to import 1.62 million tons of palm oil products worth US$891 million following the Malaysia-China Palm Oil Business Forum at the start of March, the Ministry of Primary Industries reported. The deals were between: 1) Yantai Tianmao Edible Ltd Co and Sime Darby Plantation Berhad for the purchase of 100,000 tons of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm stearin. 2) Yihai Kerry (Shanghai) International Trade Co Ltd and PGEO Marketing Sdn Bhd for the purchase of 1.3 million tons of RBD palm olein. 3) Yizheng Fangshun Industry Ltd Co and Cacao Paramount Sdn Bhd (a Teck Guan Group subsidiary) for the purchase of 120,000 tons of RBD palm stearin, and  Yizheng Fangshun Industry Ltd Co and SOP Edible Oils Sdn Bhd for the purchase of 100,000 tons of RBD palm olein. 
The ministry said China was Malaysia’s second biggest importer of palm oil and palm-based products in 2018. The country exported 3.07 million ton of palm oil and palm products last year to China, an increase of 7.3% compared with 2.86 million tons in 2017, the ministry added. The export of Malaysian palm biodiesel to China increased significantly from 140 tons in 2017 to 41,450 tons in 2018.  The ministry said that the increase in palm oil imports by China, especially during mid-2018, was due to trade tensions with the USA.