BY NED GAGAHE
The palm oil industry has performed strongly in the first quarter of 2025, as reported in Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) March 2025 Quarterly Review.
The Quarterly Review released on July, 8, 2025, revealed that fresh fruit bunch volumes rose by 19% to 32,358 tons, up from 27,130 tons in the previous quarter.
According to CBSI this increase reflected higher yields.
As a result, crude palm oil output grew by 24% to 7,285 tons, while palm kernel oil rose by 26% to 729 tons.
CBSI said the growth is linked to higher production and favourable prices.
Contracted prices also rose, with crude palm oil up 9% to US$1,320 per ton and palm kernel oil up 16% to US$2,021 per ton.
On the global market, palm kernel oil prices rose 4% to US$1,991 per ton, while crude palm oil prices fell 7% to US$1,069 per ton during the quarter.
On copra and coconut oil production, copra production fell by 17% to 3,184 tons, down from 3,858 tons in the previous quarter.
This drop was due to unfavourable weather conditions.
Meanwhile, coconut oil output rose by 11% to 1,369 tons, supported by higher contract prices.
According to the review, Western Province led production on copra with 27%, followed by Central (22%), Guadalcanal (18%), and Choiseul (12%).
Makira and Malaita each contributed 9%, while Isabel made up the remaining 3%.
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