• Indonesia has reduced the export levy on palm oil to boost exports. Indonesia has set the levy for CPO at 7.5% of the reference price. This will cut the duty to US$63/tonne from US$90/tonne for September. The levy for processed products will be between 3% and 6%. The new rates will take effect from 21 September onwards.
• Bloomberg reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has asked the European Union (EU) to suspend a new regulation designed to reduce deforestation. The law has been slammed for creating red tape and not giving those affected, including farmers enough time to prepare. The EUDR also puts at risk more than US$110bil of annual trade in 6 continents. Brazil has also urged the EU to delay implementing the law. In a letter to EU officials, Brazil said that the rules cover more than 30% of its exports to the region.
• Bloomberg quoted an industry player as saying that Paraguay's soybean industry will probably finish exporting 1mil tonnes of soybean from this year's harvest by the end of October. Capeco, which is a grain and oilseed export group in the country, estimates farmers produced more than 10mil tonnes of soybean in 2024E. Thanks to dredging in recent years, soybean continues to be shipped down Paraguay via Parana River. Also, planting of the first soybean harvest for 2025F is expected to finish in October after a slow start due to dry weather.
• Reuters reported that India has implemented a series of measures to facilitate the exports of certain farm goods and limit imports of vegetable oils ahead of local elections in 2 states where farmers form an influential voting bloc. Industry experts said that the moves were aimed at gaining support of farmers in Maharashtra and Haryana. Maharashtra is a major producer of onions, sugar and soybeans while Haryana is a leading grower of basmati rice. India has removed a floor price for basmati rice exports to help farmers boost export sales. India has also removed the minimum export price of US$550/tonne for onions. Additionally, India has raised the import duties on key edible oils by 20 percentage points.
• Bernama reported that MPOB is actively developing technology solutions to help smallholders meet the additional requirements of the EUDR. MPOB Director General, Datuk Ahmad Parveez said that the EUDR introduced new requirements for geolocation and traceability. Ahmad Parveez added that MPOB is conducting canopy mapping to accurately document oil palm cultivation areas.

Source: AmInvest Research - 23 Sep 2024