KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's palm oil stockpiles expanded to a nine-month high of 1.61 million tonnes at end-June, as rising production and imports offset a sharp rebound in exports, data from industry regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed on Monday.

Inventories at the world's second-largest producer rose 2.82% on-month to their highest since last September, MPOB data showed.

Crude palm oil production grew 2.21% to 1.61 million tonnes from May, up for a fourth consecutive month.

Planters have been putting in efforts to collect loose palm oil fruits to boost yield amid the peak production season, but output remain constrained by a labour shortage that have been aggravated by pandemic-induced border closures.

Data showed production increasing at a lower rate compared with estimates of 3%-6% output growth, while demand was in line with market expectations, said Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager & broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

Exports in June jumped 11.84% to 1.42 million tonnes, after dropping 6% in the prior month, according to MPOB data.

Imports spiked 27% from May numbers, much higher than anticipated and an indication that the market is tight, analysts and traders said.

Domestic consumption saw a 38% decline. It was expected to drop after Ramadan festival and COVID-19 curbs also hurt consumption, Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oils broker Sunvin Group said.

A Reuters survey forecast inventories rising 7.5% from May-end to 1.69 million tonnes, production climbing 7% and exports jumping 10%.

Following is a breakdown of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board figures and Reuters estimates for June (volumes in tonnes) PALM/POLL :

June 2021 June 2021 poll May 2021* June 2020 Output 1,606,187 1,682,000 1,571,525 1,885,742 Stocks 1,613,657 1,686,000 1,569,411 1,898,331 Exports 1,418,825 1,392,006 1,268,659 1,710,597 Imports 113,126 63,000 89,014 48,841

* Indicates revised figures by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((meifong.chu@thomsonreuters.com; +6-139-492-9424; Reuters Messaging: @meixchu on Twitter))