Regional Plantation - RHB Invest 2024-03-07: All In Agreement On A Stronger 1H24

• Most speakers at the 2024 annual Palm & Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition (POC 2024) declined to give average price forecasts for the year. We note, however, that most expect CPO prices to be buoyant in 1H24, before moderating in 2H24 – similar to our view.
• The price projection range was wide, ranging between MYR3,800 and MYR4,700 per tonne. We continue to advocate buying shares of the pure planters, for sector exposure.

Relatively uniform in the expectation that prices would be higher in the next few months

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• Of the seven price forecasts, Dr Sathia Varga, Thomas Mielke, Nagaraj Meda and Rasheed Janmohammed had more measured views, while Dr Julian McGill, Dr Fadhil Hasan and Dorab Mistry were more bullish.
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Declining yields and sustainability still an issue.

• A lot of discussions revolved around the need to address declining yields, mechanisation and sustainability requirements. Most speakers believe that long-term supply is at risk if palm oil yields do not improve, while sustainability is an issue with the still-rising Brazilian soy crop acreage.

Factors to watch out

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Hoe Lee Leng RHB Securities Research | Singapore Research RHB Invest | Indonesia Research RHB Invest | https://www.rhbgroup.com/ 2024-03-07 SGinvestors.io

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