Bloomberg Astra Agro Says Palm Oil Output Falls 11% in First Two Months

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- PT Astra Agro Lestari, Indonesia’s biggest agricultural company by value, said palm oil output in the first two months of the year dropped 11 percent as its trees yielded less fruit.

Crude palm oil production in January and February totaled 148,045 metric tons, compared with 166,137 tons a year ago period, the company said in a statement on its Web site. Astra Agro said its trees produced 2.87 tons of fruit bunches a hectare in the first two months, compared with 3.42 tons a hectare in last year’s period.

Palm oil futures on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange have climbed 1.3 percent this month to 1,920 ringgit ($521) a ton yesterday. Futures fell 44 percent in 2008, the first annual decline in four years. Astra Agro fell 0.4 percent to 12,500 rupiah yesterday on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

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