Malaysia palm oil output may drop 10% in 2016: minister

Kuala Lumpur

PALM oil production in Malaysia will probably drop 10 per cent this year after El Nino cut yields in the first half, according to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mah Siew Keong.

Annual output will be lower even after a recovery in production in the second half, Mr Mah said in an interview in Putrajaya on Thursday. The world's second-largest grower produced 19.96 million tonnes of crude palm oil in 2015, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board data. A 10 per cent drop would mean supply of about 17.96 tonnes, the lowest since 2010, the data show.