Firmer edible oil market with Palm oil up as earthquakes rock the Philippines.

The edible oil market has been firming up last two weeks as stockpiles of Palm oil start to tighten. Lower crops and more rumours that Indonesia will introduce B30 Bio-fuel have helped to push the price up. Dorab Mistry speaking at a conference Friday again stated that a slowing of crops for edible oils along with more Bio-Fuel blending will push prices higher over the Northern Hemispheres winter period. Two major earthquakes in southern Philippines last week have also added to the pressure on coconut oil. There have been a number of casualties in the Philippines and several factories have temporarily closed for repair work. It’s too early to know how long before they are back up and running or the effect on production.

Last weeks earthquakes have temporarily closed all of the desiccated factories in Davao. It was a major public holiday Friday so information on the ground about the level of damage to other factories is slow. Shipments will be delayed by a week or more as they access the damage. Workers are also likely to be slow returning to work as they work on domestic repairs or local rescue efforts. It’s expected that desiccated prices will come under some pressure of these factors take effect. Also spot material might become scarce if the delays in shipments are greater then a week.