Plantation industries and commodities minister Khairuddin Aman Razali said this was a positive development amid the lower revenue problem faced by the country due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said his ministry estimated that the government would collect an even bigger windfall profit levy for the three months that followed should CPO prices, which have surpassed RM4,000 per tonne, remain at that level.

“Although we do not expect CPO prices to last at RM4,000 per tonne, we forecast they would average at between RM3,500 and RM3,800 per tonne, based on the rising trend in March, April and May.

“If this were to continue, the government would gain an even higher revenue which would be given back to the people,” he told reporters after presenting Aidilfitri donations to 800 recipients, comprising orphans and the poor here today.

According to Khairuddin, CPO prices climbed to RM4,652 a tonne on May 6, the highest level in the country’s palm oil industry history, bringing relief to about 121,000 settlers and 300,000 smallholders nationwide.