Palm oil set for better fortunes after pandemic

Bright outlook: A worker sprays pesticide around oil palm trees at IOI Corp’s Gomali oil palm estate in Gemas, Johor. Palm oil is heading for a recovery in the second half on improving global demand and dwindling output. — Bloomberg

KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil is heading for a recovery in the second half on improving global demand and dwindling output, months after the coronavirus shattered the tropical oil’s stunning bull run.

Demand for the world’s most-consumed cooking oil, used in everything from chocolate to ice-cream, lipstick and shampoo, is poised to recover as lockdowns across the globe begin to ease and major consumers, including China and India, are boosting purchases to replenish stockpiles.