Biofuels and banquets put pressure on stocks of palm oil

The Malaysian Government has been forced to release emergency stocks of palm oil to break a wave of panic-buying after cooking oil prices soared.

The crisis has prompted palm oil rationing in a country that is one of the world


Inventories are already low: the ethnic diversity of Malaysia means that Christmas, the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr and the Hindu celebration of Diwali are all marked with equal vigour, with festivities centered chiefly on eating. Refineries and palm oil producers in Malaysia have been ordered to step up monthly output of sub-sidised oil to 70,000 tonnes in a near30 per cent increase.

The run began on Monday as traders in Kuala Lumpur pushed the price of palm oil to a record 3,166 ring-git (