Kuala Lumpur

PALM oil output in Malaysia will decline in December and January as severe flooding disrupts harvesting in the largest exporter after Indonesia, exacerbating a seasonal drop in production, according to RHB Investment Bank Bhd.

Output for December may contract by as much as 20 per cent from 1.75 million tonnes in November, according to Alvin Tai, an analyst at the bank who's covered the plantation industry for 11 years. There'll be a significant reduction in harvesting, he said.