The covid-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes also on the global supply and demand of oilseeds, oils and oilmeals. Thomas Mielke will highlight them and discuss impacts on the price outlook of palm and lauric oils and give reference to the just released 700-page Oil World Annual 2020 (www.oilworld.biz). The interdependence with other commodities must be acknowledged, in particular with soybeans & products, the rapeseed and sunflowerseed complexes as well as crude mineral oil.

The prospective vegetable oil demand for food will be discussed on a global scale, with particular emphasis on India and China. It will be outlined why world exports of vegetable oils will pick-up in April/June 2020 after the big year-on-year reduction in Jan/March and to what extent palm oil is likely to benefit.

Massive downward revisions have become necessary in biodiesel consumption worldwide since early 2020. Thomas Mielke will present latest Oil World forecasts on biodiesel production for Jan/Dec 2020 and analyse the major feedstocks used (palm oil, soya oil, rapeseed oil and used cooking oil). And , interestingly, he will explain why in the European Union palm oil usage for biodiesel production will not be reduced much.

Palm oil is facing many challenges also on the supply side. Yields and production have fallen short of expectations so far in 2020. The labour shortage will become more severe in Malaysia in July/Dec 2020, if the Government keeps its new, very restrictive policy on foreign labour, creating the risk of even greater production losses.

Forecasts will also be presented on the world production of palm oil, soya oil and other oils and fats, on the likely development of stocks as well as on prices.