Malaysia's total PKS exports stood at 1.27mn t in 2024, down from 1.33mn t in 2023 because of lower demand from Japan and Thailand as well as heavy rain that affected crude palm oil (CPO) output and PKS availability.
Malaysia exported 118,000t of PKS in December, down by 32pc from a year earlier, and 20pc lower than 148,000t in the previous month, according to GTT customs data. This is because of lower demand from Thailand, with Japanese demand levels rising slightly on the month in December.
But Japanese demand dropped on the year in 2024, because of outages at several power plants following fire incidents, with longer maintenance periods capping PKS consumption in early 2024. But demand picked up after August 2024, and this was reflected in prices.
Argus assessed prices for PKS fob Malaysia compliant with Japan's feed-in-tariff (FiT) at $94.63/t on 24 December, up from $83.92/t on 28 August. Argus last assessed the price at $95/t on 5 March this year.
The country shipped 117,000t of PKS to Japan in December, down by 7.5pc from 126,000t a year earlier and higher by 10pc from 107,000t in November. Japan was the top export destination for PKS, accounting for 99pc of Malaysia's total exports in December.
Shipments to Thailand stood at 829t in December, down by 98pc from 47,200t a year earlier, and 63pc lower from November.
Wood pellets
Total wood pellet exports from Malaysia were at 1.13mn t in 2024, rising by 31pc from 2023. Malaysia exported 143,000t of wood pellets in December 2024, 28pc higher from 111,000t a year earlier but lower by 10pc from 159,000t in November 2024, according to GTT customs data.
The increase in shipments comes as top wood pellet-consuming countries like South Korea and Japan look to diversify their sources, especially as prices of pellets from key supplier Vietnam have continued to increase.
Argus assessed the fob Vietnam to South Korea market at $131.63/t on 5 March from $122.19/t on 4 December, with the fob Vietnam to Japan market also climbing to $144/t from $134.83/t over the same period.
Japan accounted for 39pc of the country's wood pellet exports in December. Malaysian wood pellet shipments to Japan stood at 56,000t in December, almost tripling from 19,800t a year earlier, but 39pc lower than 91,700t in November.
Malaysian shipments of wood pellets to South Korea stood at 26,400t in December, more than doubling on the year but down by 31pc on the month. Shipments to South Korea accounted for 19pc of Malaysia's total wood pellet exports in December.
There was a significant volume of wood pellets shipped to the Netherlands in December, with one cargo of 60,000t. This shipment made up 42pc of Malaysia's pellet exports in December.
| Malaysia's biomass exports in December 2024 | t | ||
| Quantity | on month (%) | on year (%) | |
| PKS | |||
| Japan | 117,367 | 10.2 | -7.5 |
| Thailand | 829 | -62.8 | -98.2 |
| Total | 118,196 | -20.4 | -32.1 |
| Wood pellets | |||
| Netherlands | 60,000 | na | -23.9 |
| Japan | 56,067 | -38.8 | 182.8 |
| South Korea | 26,440 | -31.4 | 133.8 |
| Total | 142,682 | -10.5 | 28.3 |
| Source: GTT | |||
