As the year draws to a close, however, plantation stocks seem to have been lifted out of the doldrums, as they appear to be staging a comeback. In particular, Singapore-listed ones are poised to thrive on higher CPO prices, which has resulted in renewed investor interest in the local plantation counters.
SINGAPORE (Dec 20): The palm oil industry this past year endured its fair share of turbulent times on the back of weak commodity prices, bad weather and dry spells in key markets such as Indonesia. The industry also faced headwinds from unfavourable new regulations such as the European Union’s biodiesel levies on Indonesia’s produce.
Naturally, plantation stocks did not do well. In June, analysts noted that the counters had corrected on the back of escalating US-China trade tensions that had dampened soybean prices and diminished prospects of a crude palm oil (CPO) price recovery.
