High palm oil prices have shifted major import demand to soyaoil with Argentina and Brazil making large new sales, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said. Malaysian palm oil prices reached nine-year-highs this year although they slipped from their peaks in previous weeks on profit taking.
"China, India and several other countries reacted to the very high palm oil prices and shifted part of their demand to soyaoil," it said. "This resulted in a huge shift in export demand in May and a reduction of soyaoil stocks below the year-earlier level in Argentina."
Oil World estimates Argentina exported 740,000 tonnes of soyaoil in May 2007, up from 650,000 tonnes in May 2006. The US is estimated to have exported 30,000 tonnes in May from 20,000 tonnes in May 2006 and Brazil 270,000 tonnes from 130,000 tonnes.
High palm oil prices also generated higher soyabean exports in May, it said. China was a leading soyaoil purchaser, with imports of 260,000 tonnes in May against just 17,000 tonnes a year earlier. This brought China's January/May 2007 soyaoil imports to 1.05 million tonnes, up 50 percent on the year and a record high, Oil World said.
"We expect large Chinese arrivals of soyaoil in June and July also," it said. But along with high palm oil prices, Chinese soyaoil demand was also generated by problems in China's domestic livestock sector which resulted in lower soyameal demand in January/May. "Consequently, imports and crushings of soyabeans were smaller, raising import demand for soyaoil," it said.
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