Malaysia exported 20,872 mt of biodiesel during May, compared with just 116 mt exported in April, according to data released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board on Friday.
The bulk of the PME was said to have been loaded on one vessel from the Pasir Gudang port for a major European buyer, but the source of the PME could not be confirmed.
Some market sources said that the PME had been sold by a Malaysian producer soon after the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook conference held in March in Malaysia to the European buyer, while others said that the PME had been stored by the buyer in Malaysian tanks and was loaded in April.
Meanwhile, Malaysian palm oil stocks fell 8.33% from 1.8 million mt in April to 1.65 million mt in May, the lowest level seen since March 2011 when they stood at 1.61 million mt, according to MPOB data.
The inventory level was higher than forecast by Malaysia-based CIMB bank, which had predicted a 12% fall in May in a note released on Wednesday.
Palm oil stocks in Malaysia are falling due to lower production amid the combined effect of the El Nino-induced drought and a bad haze from Indonesian forest fires.
Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia have been the most badly affected in terms of production, according to CIMB.
Production in Malaysia was slightly higher in May at 1.36 million mt compared with 1.3 million mt in April amid a seasonal upswing in output.
However, it was still almost 25% below 1.81 million mt produced in May last year, according to MPOB data.
Palm oil exports rose to 1.28 million mt in May, up 9.4% month on month. However, exports were lower than May last year, at 1.63 million mt.
Indian palm oil imports jumped to 310,495 mt in May from 179,540 mt in April, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr demand, but Chinese imports were only marginally higher at 105,905 mt in May from 104,923 mt in April.
Pakistan's imports were also only slightly higher at 76,567 mt in May from 72,225 mt in April.
