Palm oil climbs as Indonesian forest fires puts supply at risk

FILE PHOTO: A worker loads fresh oil palm fruit bunches from Melati Hanjalipan cooperative palm oil plantation in Hanjalipan village, East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia, July 22, 2025. -Reuters

PALM oil rose as traders weighed the risk of supply disruptions from forest fires raging across Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer.

Benchmark futures climbed as much as 0.9% to 4,975 ringgit ($1,229) per ton in Kuala Lumpur as acrid haze from the fires blanketed large parts of Southeast Asia. Some harvesting has been disrupted, with farm workers drafted into firefighting efforts, while palm fruit growth can also be affected by smoke and reduced sunlight.

The latest price move "reflects the haze situation in Indonesia, which is getting worse,” said David Ng, a senior trader at Iceberg X Sdn. The market is "concerned about the dry and hazy situation affecting output,” he said, adding that the tropical commodity was also supported by higher crude and vegetable oil prices. Elevated crude prices tend to make biofuels more competitive, boosting demand for palm oil.

While forest fires and the accompanying haze are a regular occurrence in Southeast Asia, often attributed to traditional and commercial land-clearing practices, this year’s severe El Niño weather pattern is intensifying and prolonging the adverse impacts.

That has created the conditions for wildfires and the spread of cross-border haze by prevailing southeasterly and southwesterly winds, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre said last week in its latest outlook. An expected increase in showers around October, ahead of the wet season, could ease the fire and haze situation, it added.

More than 202,000 hectares have been burned across the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and pollution levels have spiked both at home and in nearby countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. - Bloomberg

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资料照片：2025年7月22日，一名工人在印度尼西亚中加里曼丹省东科塔瓦林金县汉贾利潘村的梅拉蒂汉贾利潘合作社棕榈油种植园装载新鲜油棕果串。——路透社

棕榈油价格上涨，交易员们正在权衡肆虐全球最大棕榈油生产国印度尼西亚的森林大火可能导致的供应中断风险。

由于山火产生的刺鼻烟雾笼罩东南亚大部分地区，吉隆坡基准棕榈油期货价格一度上涨0.9%，至每吨4975林吉特（1229美元）。部分棕榈树的收割工作受到影响，农场工人被征召参与灭火，而烟雾和日照减少也会影响棕榈果的生长。

Iceberg X Sdn 高级交易员 David Ng 表示，最新的价格波动“反映了印尼日益恶化的雾霾情况”。他指出，市场“担忧干燥和雾霾天气会影响产量”，并补充说，原油和植物油价格上涨也支撑了这种热带商品。原油价格上涨往往会使生物燃料更具竞争力，从而提振棕榈油的需求。

虽然森林火灾和伴随的烟雾在东南亚地区屡见不鲜，通常归因于传统的和商业性的土地清理活动，但今年严重的厄尔尼诺天气模式加剧并延长了不利影响。

东盟专业气象中心上周在其最新展望中指出，盛行的东南风和西南风导致了野火的发生，并加剧了跨境烟霾的蔓延。该中心补充说，预计10月份雨季到来之前降雨量将会增加，这可能会缓解火灾和烟霾情况。

印尼婆罗洲和苏门答腊岛已有超过20.2万公顷土地被烧毁，印尼国内以及包括新加坡、马来西亚和菲律宾在内的邻国污染水平急剧上升。——彭博社

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