Archived News

JAKARTA, May 26 (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Chemicals will purchase up to$2 billion worth of fatty acids and fatty alcohols from Indonesia over thenext 10 years, a company official said on Thursday."The export value of the contract over 10 years will depend on marketconditions. My estimates are, over 10 years the value of the contract willprobably (be between) $1.7-$2.0 billion," said Martin Herrington, managingdirector for P&G Chemicals Asia.

Friday May 27, 2005, 2:23 pm - BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--The board ofpetrochemical producer Thai Olefins PCL (TOC.TH) has approved a plan toinvest in a $119 millionproject to produce methyl ester and fatty alcohol,the company said Friday. The project is expected to have a debt-to-equityratio of 1:1.

Thursday May 26, 11:40 AM BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--The following table showsThailand's imports of soybeans, soymeal, pulp and palm oil duringJanuary-March 2005, compared with imports in the same period in 2004.

Friday May 27, 2005 - UNITED International Enterprises Ltd (UIE), aDenmark-based company controlled by United Plantations Bhd’s Tan Sri B.Bek-Nielsen, and Swedish group Melker Schorling AB have proposed to mergetheir specialty vegetable oils and fats manufacturing operations.

Wednesday May 25, 2005, 8:11 pm KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Asia may be aleader in the production and consumption of palm oil, but the region isstill lagging in the supply and usage of specialty products derived fromthe commodity like fat-based animal feed.

PATTANI, May 24 (Thailand) - The government is heavily promoting thecultivation of oil palms in Thailand's southern border provinces as ameans of generating local incomes in the region currently lacking ineconomic opportunities, the deputy governor of Pattani Province, Mrs.Phannee Kaensuwan, revealed today.

HAMBURG (May 25 2005): Global 2004/05 soyaoil output will rise to 32.57million tonnes against 30.86 million tonnes in 2003/04, Hamburg-basednewsletter Oil World forecasts. This would raise season ending stocks onOctober 1, 2005, to 3.02 million tonnes from 2.73 million tonnes onOctober 1, 2004, it estimated. "Soybean oil production is back on a steepgrowth path, following a setback by 200,000 tonnes in 2003/04 which wasdue to unusually low soyabean crops," it said. Soyoil stocks were alsorising but were still down on the year, it said. Global stocks on April 1were estimated at 2.67 million tonnes from 3.14 million tonnes the sametime in 2004. It estimates world July 1 stocks will rise to 2.96 milliontonnes from 3.05 million tonnes on July 1, 2004.

Oilworld - World palm oil production is forecast to rise steeply by2.8-2.9 Mn T in Oct/Sept 2004/05, significantly abovethe average annual growth of 1.6 Mn T in the latest 10 seasons. The largeincrease this season follows a rise by 2.0 Mn T in 2003/04. Both were dueto a slight acceleration in the growth of the mature area in key countriesbut primarily to above-average yields.

5/24/2005 BAD HOMBURG, Germany, May 24 -- Sasol and Wilmar Holdings PteLimited announced today the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) to form a Joint Venture with the intention to construct a fattyalcohols plant in China. The partners are planning to locate a 60,000metric ton per year plant in the industrial port city of Lianyungang andstart up is expected in mid 2007. Sasol is the largest global producer andmarketer of C6+ alcohols while Wilmar is a leading processor anddistributor of lauric oils with substantial interests in palm oilplantations.

May 22 10:04 AM - Philippines, The Coconut Industry Investment Fund OilMills Group (CIIF-OMG), the country’s largest coconut oil producer takingup about 50 percent share of the export market, may embark in the tradingof palm olein in order to boost its coconut oil export.

5/23/2005 - Indian food industry continues to show a strong commitment tooil imports following drop in domestic demand, says industry body.

Friday May 20, 2005, 3:43 pm JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Indonesian palm fattyacid exports to China will likely rise 50% on year to 360,000 metric tonsin 2005.