Cofeed News: till March 9th this week, edible palm oil at China’s ports has downsized to 655,100 tonnes from 667,500 tonnes by 1.8% in stocks on the week, but worth of noticing, the figure is still 4.9% higher than 624,300 tonnes on a year-on-year basis with an increase of 30,800 tonnes; besides, stocks of industrial palm oil are also seen falling, generally from 93,700 tonnes to 93,000 tonnes on the week, with a reduction of 7,000 tonnes by 0.1%. Generally, domestic stocks of palm oil this week go down further, and March imports of palm oil of 24-degree melting point are probably around 0.25-0.3 Mln tonnes, according to Cofeed. Though price gap between soybean oil and palm oil domestically is expanded to be around 610 yuan/tonne-- a figure still lower than normal level of 800 yuan/tonne, relatively smaller price differences still subdue demand for palm oil spots. Furthermore, sales of palm oil go poor for buyers are inclined to stand by seeing weaker and weaker futures under way, thus on this very note, domestic stocks of palm oil will gradually rise when imports far exceed demand, but its stocks upside will not be on the top without limitation.

                                  Figure: Comparison of domestic palm oil stocks in recent years

    Imports of palm oil are estimated to be around 0.27-0.33 Mln tonnes for February import (0.17-0.21 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil, 0.10-0.12 Mln tonnes of industrial palm oil); roughly 0.35-0.38 Mln tonnes for March import (0.25 Mln tonnes of 24-degree palm oil, 0.1-0.13 Mln tonnes of industrial palm oil), basically flat when compared to estimates last week; about 0.31 Mln tonnes for April imports and 0.43 Mln tonnes for May imports. Arrivals of palm oil may change with the market and shipping schedule, therefore information will be updated according to latest shipments and possible defaults.