Officials from Malaysia and Indonesia will meet within a month to roll out a price stabilisation mechanism to counter the falling CPO price. These could include raising domestic biodiesel demand and providing incentives for replanting old palm oil trees, similar to the joint measures announced in 2008. If these measures are successfully implemented, reducing supply (replanting programmes) and boosting demand (biodiesel mandate), we believe it will help to arrest the decline in palm oil prices. We are keeping our average CPO price forecast of RM2,230 per tonne for 2015, pending more details on these measures. We continue to like First Resources, Astra Agro and Genting Plantations in the palm oil space. Maintain Neutral on the sector.
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