KUCHING: Global weather has been volatile this year with cold temperatures affecting north China and drought affecting southwest China.In a recent research report by AmResearch Sdn Bhd (AmResearch), Malaysia and Philippines suffered from hot weather with the impact being more severe in Philippines where approximately 300,000 tonnes of rice production had been lost since March.
In northeast China, the cold weather had delayed plantings of corn and soybean by seven to 10 days while in the southwest, drought caused losses in grains of 1.9 million tonnes and rapeseed production of about 400,000 tonnes highlighted AmResearch.
It further said that China had sufficient reserves of vegetable oil which could be released to soften prices and ensure ample supply in the market.
As at the end of 2009, the research house mentioned that China had stockpiles of 6.9 million tonnes of soybean and 21 million tonnes of corn while as of mid-April this year, the country’s inventory of palm oil at ports amounted to 546,000 tonnes.
Iceland’s volcanic eruptions sent plumes of ash into the air which was not expected to affect global agricultural productions, added the research house.
The reason for this, it noted, was that the volcano did not shoot ash high enough and also the volcano was located way up in the northern region of Iceland.
Back at home, AmResearch noted that plantation companies in Malaysia finally received some respite from rains in the first few weeks of April. Should there be impact from El Nino, it continued, it would be more significant in 18 to 24 months time.
The research report affirmed a neutral view on the plantation sector due to an increase in soybean production coming in from South America in the second quarter of 2010.