SINGAPORE: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Monday after data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed the world’s second-biggest producer imported record high levels of the oil in December while exports in January have plunged so far.

The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 33 ringgit, or 0.86%, lower to 3,797 ringgit ($937.53) a tonne, after rising 6% last week.

“Prices are down because MPOB data showed Malaysian palm oil imports are at a record high,” a Kuala Lumpur trader said.

MPOB reported earlier on Monday imports of palm oil had more than doubled to a record high. Malaysian imports of palm oil rose 150% in December from the month earlier to 282,058 tonnes.

The rise in palm oil imports comes amid a supply crunch in Malaysia due to poor weather and infrastructure issues. MPOB also reported that Malaysia’s December palm oil end-stocks slumped 19% in December from the prior month to hit 13-year lows, while production fell 10.6%.

However, 2021 end-stocks is expected to soar 59% to 2 million tonnes, MPOB director-general Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said during a virtual conference.

Also dragging prices were a slump in exports of Malaysian palm oil products during Jan. 1-10, which fell 35% from the month before, cargo surveyors said.

Elsewhere, soyaoil on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.7%. Soyaoil on the Dalian fell 0.9% while its palm oil contract was down 1.6%.