Palm | Kelapa Sawit

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Reuters) - Stung by the twin woes of erratic weather and aggressive replanting, palm oil traders are bracing for a supply squeeze in the months ahead, spurring importers to stock up ahead of an anticipated rise in demand.
This is already reflected in Malaysian prices -- palm is one of the biggest gainers this year, soaring 42 percent -- and analysts say any further rise may force Indian and Chinese buyers to shift to soy oil, which has risen at a much lower rate.
Analysts said top producers Indonesia and Malaysia could see palm output fall in April-June, rather than a gradual increase as usually expected, driving total stocks down by more than half to below 2.5 million tonnes by the end of the period, from a record 5 million tonnes in November.