Archived News

16/09/04 Malaysia (OILWORLD) : In West Malaysia palm oil output alreadypeaked in July and started to decline seasonally in August. The slightincrease seen in total Malaysian production in August and probably also inSept will be only linked to the still expanding production in Sabah andSarawak, which, however, is likely to peak this month.

9/16/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - India, the world's largest edible oil importer,on Wednesday announced sharp cuts in the base import price of palm oilsand crude soyoil to check rising inflation.

KUALA LUMPUR (September 16 2004): Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose onThursday, spurred by top buyer India's move to sharply reduce the baseimport price of edible oils to check rising inflation.

16/09/04 PAKISTAN (OILWORLD) - In 2003/04 vegetable oil importrequirements have been curbed by sharply higher domestic production,primarily of rape oil and sun oil. Imports of oils & fats are likely toreach 1.15 Mn T in Oct/Sept 2003/04, down 4% on the year. Owing to higherprice premiums of soya oil versus palm oil, the reduction has come mainlyin soybean oil imports, which will accumulate to only around 50 Thd T thisseason, less than half a year ago. Palm oil imports will remain aboutunchanged at 1.4 Mn T. Imports of rapeseed and sunseed have been on asteep upward trend in 2003/04 and, together with a higher domestic sunseedcrop, lifted seed oil production to new record levels. We estimatecombined production of oils & fats in Pakistan at 1.52 Mn T this season,about 110 Thd T more than the year before. In July/Sept 2004 combinedimports of oils & fats are expected to decline by around 100 Thd T on theyear to an estimated 430-440 Thd T. In 2004/05 the expansion of domesticproduction of vegetable oils will probably slow down. In order to coverthe domestic consumption growth imports of vegetable oils will thereforehave to be stepped up. Crushers are likely to further raise imports andprocessing of rapeseed, which, however, will partly be offset by aprospective reduction in sunseed crushings. The annual growth of domesticdisappearance of oils & fats in Pakistan is expected in the vicinity of90-100 Thd T in 2004/05, similar to what was registered in recent years.As a result, we estimate imports of oils & fats at approximately 1.67 MnT, an increase of 0.1 Mn T on the year.

9/16/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - The vegetable oil industry has urged thegovernment to reconsider the stipulated minimum carotenoid content forimported palm oil as it was impossible to meet the present standard.

KIEV (September 16 2004): Ukraine cut sunflower oil output to 59,200tonnes in August from 108,000 in July, the State Statistics Committee saidon Thursday.

9/15/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - A CUT in the tariff value or base price onwhich import duty is levied on edible oils is now almost certain.

9/15/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - Consumers will pay less for edible oils afterWednesday. The government has decided to lower the tariff value or thebase price on which duty is imposed on edible oils to stem inflationarypressures. The new rates will be announced on Wednesday.

15/09/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - The government has decided to reduce thetariff value for edible oil and the duty entitlement passbook schemebenefits for steel exporters while maintaining the present level ofbenefit for the textile sector.

15/09/04 NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--India's monthly edible oil imports inAugust were the highest so far in the current oil marketing year endingOct. 31, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, or SEA, saidWednesday.Edible oil imports in August totaled 599,738 metric tons compared with384,444 tons in August 2003.The rise in edible oil imports in August was led by a sharp rise incrude soyoil imports, which touched 203,143 tons compared with 80,800 tonsa year earlier.Imports of refined palm olein also increased sharply, to 79,030 tonscompared with 43,676 tons in August 2003.Crude palm olein imports in August were also the highest so far thismarketing year, touching 58,541 tons compared with 21,222 tons a yearearlier.India's crude palm oil imports in August totaled 232,604 tons, comparedwith 217,941 tons in August 2003.Sunflower oil, which is sparingly imported by India, touched 20,580tons in August compared with 10,008 tons in August 2003.While SEA didn't comment on the reasons for the increase in edible oilimports in August, traders said imports traditionally rise from August toOctober, as there is very little domestic supply of edible oil left inthese months.These months also see a lot of demand because of a series on Hindufestivals, all of which are accompanied by family and community feasts.Total edible oil imports from November 2003-August 2004 were at 3.3million tons, almost a million tons lower than the 4.2 million tonsimported November 2002-August 2003.Industry observers said total edible oil imports this marketing yearare likely to be around 4.2 million tons compared with 5.1 million tonslast marketing year.

15/09/04 NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--The Indian government Wednesday cut tariffvalues on imports of edible oils by around $50 a metric ton as part of itscontinuing efforts to curb inflation rate.

15/09/04 JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Indonesia is expected to produce more than12 million metric tons of crude palm oil in 2005, Agriculture MinisterBungaran Saragih told reporters Wednesday.Bungaran said that by next year, Indonesia will be able to match themight of Malaysia, the number one producer of palm oil in the world now."The area under (oil palm) cultivation has gone up to 4.6 millionhectares from around 2.3 million hectares in 1999," he said, addinginvestor interest in oil palm has been high because of lucrative prices ofthe commodity. In comparison, Malaysia had around 3.8 million hectares ofoil palm at the end of last year."The farmers and investors responded well by using their own money toinvest in plantations" without the government providing any incentives forinvestment, Bungaran said.He said the country is on track to produce an estimated 11 milliontons of crude palm oil this year. According to estimates from theIndonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, or Gapki, Indonesia produced9.9 million tons of palm oil in 2003."In 2005 we can match Malaysia. Production could be more than 12million tons," Bungaran said.Private forecasts have pegged Indonesian palm oil exports around 6.5million tons this year.He said there are now six companies supplying high quality oilpalmseeds to farmers as against just three companies earlier.