Malaysia palm output seen exceeding 20 mln tonnes

CPO - KUALA LUMPUR.  Palm oil output in Malaysia, the world's second largest producer after Indonesia, is forecast to rise to over 20 million tonnes this year from 19.5 million tonnes in 2017, the country's plantations minister said on Tuesday.

Plantation industries and commodities minister Mah Siew Keong last forecast in November that 2018 output would "be more than last year" versus a 2017 production outlook of 19.5 million tonnes. He also earlier forecast that palm oil prices would average between 2,600-2,700 ringgit a tonne in 2018.

Benchmark palm oil prices were up 0.08 percent at 2,627 ringgit ($656.91) a tonne in early trade on Tuesday. They averaged at 2,807 ringgit in 2017, according to Eikon data, slightly up from 2,741 ringgit the previous year.