KUALA LUMPUR, June 26: Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell 1 per cent on Tuesday as expectations of a build-up in stocks due to weakening demand and an uptick in imports from Indonesia pulled down the market.

Palm oil prices were also pressured by losses in Chicago Board of Trade soyabean oil futures during electronic trading in Asian hours, traders said.

The benchmark September contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 24 ringgit, or 1 per cent at 2,348 ringgit ($676) a ton, after hitting an intraday low of 2,321 ringgit.

The market is on the downside as the end-stock for June and later months will rise because of weak exports, said a dealer.

Also, refiners are bringing in more crude palm oil from Indonesia.

Another trader said: Soyaoil is a contributing factor to the declining prices but it is the demand and supply fundamentals that are giving more pressure. Other traded months fell between 10 ringgit and 48 ringgit in overall trade of 9,972 lots of 25 tons each.

Palm oil is now more than 15 per cent off a historic high of 2,764 ringgit reached earlier this month due to robust demand from top importers India and China and dwindling stocks at home.

September palm oil on Singapore's Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange slipped $8.00 at $679.00 a ton in dull trade.

Top palm oil consumer India is looking to boost oilseed production to 35 million tons by 2011 in a bid to become less reliant on expensive imports, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for June 1-25 fell 10.6 per cent to 821,500 tons from 918,738 tons shipped between May 1 and 25, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday.

In Malaysia's physical market, crude palm oil for June shipment in the southern region was quoted at 2,500/2,510 ringgit a ton. Trades were done between 2,500 and 2,520 ringgit.—Reuters