KUALA LUMPUR, April 29: Malaysian crude palm oil futures dropped 4.6 per cent on Tuesday, almost hitting a three-week low as vegetable oil prices weakened and on concerns that growth in exports had stalled.

Palm oil prices, which have meandered for the past two weeks, are weakening on a mix of bearish factors, including cuts in Indonesian export taxes, a strengthening ringgit against the dollar and dismal Asian demand although some traders say a recovery might be on the cards.

For Malaysian palm, exports have not really made any significant growth and it doesn’t help the market. Traders expected April exports be around 1,250,000 tons, roughly 0.9 per cent lower than 1,261,295 tons in March.

Other traded months fell between 137 and 160 ringgit in overall trade of 8,987 lots of 25 tons each.

May soyoil fell 0.10 cent in Asian trade, extending overnight losses on signs Argentine farm leaders might extend a May 2 deadline for talks with the government to avert the resumption of a strike. Meanwhile, the most-active September soyoil contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange tumbled 3.9 per cent.

But exports have hardly posted significant growth, which indicates big consumers such as India and China are waiting for prices to drop further before committing to purchases, dealers said.

Cargo surveyors Societe Generale de Surveillance and Intertek Testing Services will issues export estimates for April on Wednesday.

Malaysia’s April palm oil reserves will probably fall 1.7 per cent from March to its lowest level in four months, as higher demand for the edible oil outstrips a small rise in output, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

In Malaysia’s physical market, crude palm oil for April shipment in the southern region was quoted at 3,340/3,360 ringgit a ton. Trades were unquoted by the end of the session.—Reuters