Archived News

April 12 2005 - KUMPULAN Guthrie Bhd’s aggressive replanting programmewill bear full results in three years’ time when the younger oil palmtrees reach maturity.

2005-04-12 - THE Philippines needs to develop new areas for palm oilplantations because palm oil importation is expected to drain its coffersof about P2 billion in 2010, an expert in the palm oil industry said.

4/12/05 - The forecast for U.S. soybean exports in 2004/05 was increased953,000 metric tons from the March estimate to a record 29.4 MMT, duetostronger than expected export sales throughout the month of March,according to a USDA crop circular posted Monday on the ForeignAgricultural Services Website.During March U.S. export commitments rose 2.3 MMT, up 1.5 MMT from lastyearand 1.4 MMT from 2 years ago. A large part of this increase came fromChina where commitments increased 859,000 MT and the EU where commitmentsrose 472,000MT during March.U.S. exports to China as of March 31 are already at a record 11.1 MMTwith456,000 MT of sales still on the books.Export commitments to China are up 3.3MMT from last year's record exportsof 8.2 MMT.Along with strong exports toChina, U.S. exports to the EU have reboundedsignificantly and are about 1 MMT higher than last year, but lag MY 2002exports by almost 1 MMT.A drought-reduced crop in Brazil has caused the soybean prices there toremainstrong thus minimizing the seasonal gap between U.S. and Brazilianprices.This along with freight advantages have allowed U.S. prices to remain morecompetitive than they normally would have been in both China and the EU,causingU.S. sales to these countries to remain strong.The Brazilian soybean crop forecast fell to 54 MMT in April down 12 MMT or18 percent from the initial forecast of 66 MMT last fall. According toBrazil's Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) the most significantdecline occurred in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where thecrop is now estimated at only 3.1 MMT, down steeply from this season'sinitial government estimate of 9.2 MMT.This year the state of Rio Grande do Sul has reportedly suffered from theworst drought in 62 years.

4/12/2005 The Guardian - Taking vitamin E eases the severe period painsthat affect thousands of teenage girls, research suggested yesterday.

4/11/2005 - Asia Pulse TOKYO - Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. hasbegun promoting a new method of soil remediation that uses vegetable oilto stimulate soil bacteria and advance the decomposition of volatileorganic compounds (VOCs).

YANGON, 8 April - The inauguration of the Crude Palm Oil Mill that canproduce 30 tons per hour, of Yuzana Co Ltd, was held at the mill inKhamaukkyi, Kawthoung Township, on 6 April morning, attended by Member ofthe State Peace and Development Council General Thura Shwe Mann.

PUTRAJAYA, April 11 (Bernama) -- The Renewable Energy Business Facility(REBF) has been established under the BioGen Project to provide financialassistance for the development and implementation of biomass-based powergeneration.

4/11/2005 - Global stocks of soybeans continue to rise after a draw-downin recent years, with production to reach 52.6 million tonnes in 2004/05,15.2 million tonnes more than in 2003/04.

11/4/05- The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has plans to plantanother five million rai of oil palm, specifically for use in bio-dieselproduction in the South, the Northeast, the East and even someneighbouring countries.

JAKARTA, April 5 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's exports of crude palm oil wereestimated to grow by 8 per cent in the first quarter of this year from thesame period last year, producers said.

DAVAO CITY, April 7 Asia Pulse - The Philippine Palm Oil DevelopmentCouncil, Inc. (PPDCI) painted a bleak picture of the Philippines palm oilindustry as "supply gap" is projected to increase.

PUTRAJAYA, April 7 (Bernama) -- Palm oil prices may move beyond RM1,650per tonnes in the second half of this year should supply be adverselyaffected by the recent dry season or if mineral oil prices continue tostay above US$50 per barrel, said a Germany-based consultant ThomasMielke.