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MUMBAI, Oct. 27. (Business Line) - BOTH sunflowerseed and soyabeanplantings in Argentina are expected to be strong during the 2002-03season. Favourable prices for sunseed and relatively lower input cost forsoyabean are seen driving acreage higher. However, area expansion for thetwo crops will be at the cost of corn (maize).Sunseed area this year is expected to expand to 2.3 million hectares, upfrom 2.0 ml ha last year and 1.9 ml ha the year before. Higher relativeprices are believed to have spurred an increase in area of cultivation.Typically, Argentine sunseed yields range between 1.65 and 1.85 tonnes perhectare. Under normal weather conditions, the output should touch 4.2million tonnes; and not less than 4.0 mt in any case, it is believed. Lastyear, the output was 3.7 mt.As Argentina's production is largely export-oriented, a sharp devaluationof the currency has ensured higher prices for producers.International sunseed and sunoil prices have been ruling rather high lasttwo years because of decline in global output. A notable recovery of about2 mt in sunseed is seen for this year because of improved productionprospects in major origins. Global sunseed output is expected to be around23.3 mt.Soyabean acreage in Argentina is forecast to increase 6 per cent to 12 mlha, while corn is forecast to decline 8 per cent to 2.25 ml ha. Farmersare expected to plant more soyabean as it is a lower input-cost crop thancorn, an important deciding factor this year when farmers' access tocredit is restricted due to Argentina's economic collapse, the USDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) pointed out.Last two years, the country's soyabean yields have been in excess of 2.6tonnes per hectare. Assuming unchanged yield, Argentina will produce arecord 30 mt plus crop. USDA put the forecast output at 31 mt. The cropswill be ready for harvest by February-March next year.

Oct. 25, CABO SAN LUCAS (Mexico Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News) --If actions speak louder than words, then the world's most developedeconomies have some explaining to do.While rich nations constantly are preaching the gospel of freer trade asthe way for their poor counterparts to improve their lot, seldom do thewell-to-do follow their own advice when it comes to subsidizing domesticagriculture."It is a scandal that farmers in rich countries are subsidized by theirgovernments to produce sugar at 50 or 60 cents a pound, while farmers inpoor countries like the Philippines and the Caribbean receive 5 cents apound because the surplus sugar produced by richer countries is dumped onworld markets," said Dryden Spring, a representative of the private-sectoradvisory council to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.APEC continues through Sunday in this luxury resort town."Agriculture is a thorny subject, because we are talking about tariffs ofhundreds of percent," said Spring, a New Zealand trade negotiator andformer head of that nation's dairy board."But like every other industry, agriculture must perform."The business council wants wealthy economies of the 21 member APEC statesto eliminate tariffs and subsidies by 2010, and for their poorer brethrento follow suit by 2020.U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick fielded questions about how hisnation would comply.Washington just five months ago passed a landmark farm bill extending $171billion in support to American growers over the next decade.Nevertheless, the United States is a staunch supporter of lowering tradebarriers in accordance with APEC and World Trade Organization goals."There's been a lot of misinformation," Zoellick said Thursday. "I've beentrying to dispel a lot of propaganda."Zoellick said American farmers are willing to give up their price supports-- but only if their competitors in the European Union and Japan do thesame."The United States has come forward with its proposal. The Europeans andthe Japanese have not," he said.While American growers enjoy export subsidies of $19 billion, Washingtonproposes to reduce that figure to $10 billion, Zoellick said.He called on the European Union, with $65 billion, to reduce its subsidiesto $12 billion.American farmers have agreed to reduce tariffs from 12 percent to 5percent, but want Europe to bring its 30 percent tariffs down by more thantwo-thirds."The 21 APEC member economies are saying to the major agricultural exportsubsidizer, the E.U., it's time to step forward," Zoellick said.Also Thursday, leaders of nations and corporations tackled an urgentglobal dilemma: How to open borders to trade while closing them toterrorists.But violence kept Russia's president away as his Pacific Rim counterpartscame to this strip of luxury resorts for the conference.Vladimir Putin canceled his visit and meeting with President Bush afterChechen separatists took hundreds of hostages in Moscow.Bush had hoped to use the meeting to win Putin's support for threats offorce against Iraq.In the post-Sept. 11, 2001, world, terrorism sends markets plunging, andthe global economic slump forces politicians to rethink priorities."You can't trade in an insecure world," said Nelson Cunningham, managingdirector of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a Washington consulting firm."APEC has been hijacked by the terrorists."Secretary of State Colin Powell said APEC members would soon launch "apackage of bold joint actions to make the flow of trade, finance andcommunication more secure."He said richer countries would help poorer ones with the resources theyneed to implement the measures."To drive growth and generate prosperity," Powell said, APEC nations needto tighten security, "particularly our security from global terrorism."

DUBAI, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Minister of Primary Industries Datuk Seri DrLim Keng Yaik on Monday ended a four-nation tour aimed at boosting exportof Malaysian palm oil to West Asian countries.Speaking in Dubai, Dr Lim said the purpose of his visit to the region wasto "confer with essential players in the palm oil market and explorefurther business opportunities" with the countries in the region.He said Malaysia considered the United Arab Emirates (UAE) an importantmarket due to its position as a major regional re-export centre.He told a business seminar on Monday that Malaysia could supply localcompanies with the "necessary palm oil to convert it into finished goodsdestined for markets in the region" as part of strategic trade alliances.Dr Lim said there has been a 16-fold increase in Malaysian palm oilexports to the UAE over the last decade."From less than 12,000 tonnes in the early 1990s, Malaysia exported180,000 tonnes of palm oil to the UAE last year," he said.In his talks with the UAE Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Fahim AlQasimi in Abu Dhabi on Sunday Dr Lim also discussed ways to increasebilateral trade.Dr Lim praised the liberal UAE business policies, saying they have helpedMalaysian products in reaching local markets.The Malaysian minister earlier visited Morocco, Egypt and Jordan as partof the regional tour that began on October 13."Although the aim of my trip was to promote the export of palm oil,companies in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco also showed interest in importingcommodities like timber and rubber," Dr Lim told Bernama.Malaysia is considering a series of programmes in West Asia to increaseconsumer and industrial awareness of palm oil usage, said Datuk HaronSiraj, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Boardand a member of Dr Lim's high-level economic and technical mission.Haron said such awareness campaigns would include seminars and cookingdemonstrations, "highlighting health benefits and nutritional attributesof palm oil."

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 24 (Kyodo)- Authorities have identified aninternational syndicate selling palm oil on the black market as behind therecent spate of ship hijackings in Indonesian waters, the InternationalMaritime Bureau (IMB) said Thursday.''The IMB believes a ruthless and determined gang is preying on valuablepalm oil cargoes being towed off Sumatran coast,'' the IMB said in astatement released in conjunction with its January-September 2002 reporton piracy attacks worldwide.It said the trend, in which tugs towing barges laden with expensivecargoes have been hijacked, emerged during the third quarter of this year.This September alone, three such hijacking cases were reported in theregion -- two in Indonesian waters, one in the Malacca Strait. The threeships were carrying millions of dollars worth of palm oil.''The police have identified those responsible and are liaising withlaw-enforcement agencies in neighboring countries,'' the IMB said.In the first nine months of this year, the two areas reported a total of13 hijackings.Indonesian waters are notorious for being pirate-infested, having toppedthe IMB's list every year in the number of piracy cases reported. BetweenJanuary and September this year, 72 cases were recorded there out of thetotal 271 cases worldwide.On Oct. 1, the IMB warned that a pirate gang is preying on small tankersentering the southern approaches to the Malacca Strait, seizing theircargoes of diesel oil, for which there is a ready market.The London-based IMB, which operates a piracy reporting center at itsregional office in Kuala Lumpur that is financed by voluntarycontributions from shipping and insurance companies, also called onSoutheast Asian governments to ratify the 1998 Suppression of UnlawfulActs at Sea Convention.At present, the convention, which obliges contracting governments eitherto extradite or prosecute perpetrators of violence at sea, has only beenratified by 73 states.The IMB said the need to ratify the convention has become urgent as piracycases keep on piling up each year worldwide, with 271 cases being recordedin the first nine months of 2002 compared with only 253 for the sameperiod last year.The bureau also voiced concern over the Oct. 6 terrorist attack on theFrench-flagged oil tanker Limburg off Yemen, which killed one crew memberand sent more than 90,000 barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Aden.It recommended that government and port authorities consider prescribedtraffic lanes for maritime vessels, where practicable, patrolled by coastguard vessels and kept free of all unauthorized craft

CPO in para 1 sould refer as palm oil.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia plans to establish morenetworking in Jordan, which imports large amount of oils and fats tosatisfy its domestic demand, so that palm oil would not lose out to othercompeting oils, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaiksaid."We want to meet more people who are interested to venture into edible oilbusiness. Since Palm oil can go into a myriad range of products, I am surethe business community here would not want to lose out on the tremendousbusiness opportunities that palm oil can offer," he said.Dr Lim said this at the Malaysia-Jordan Business Dialogue under theMalaysian Palm Oil Economic and Technical Mission to Jordan. The text ofhis speech was released here Thursday.He said that Jordan produces 25,000 tonnes of olive oil a year but itsconsumption of oils and fats averaged 125,000 tonnes a year.This means that Jordan has to depend largely on imports to satisfy herdomestic consumption, in addition to being a gateway for re-exports tonearby countries, Dr Lim said.Jordan also exports oils and fats and re-exports large quantities of palmoil to neighbouring countries, including Iraq, in processed form, likevegetable ghee, under the United Nations Oil for Food programme.Jordan imported some 134,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia last year.Last year, Malaysia produced 11.8 million tonnes of palm oil and exportedmore than 10.5 million tonnes, which makes it once again the world'slargest producer and exporter of palm oil.Meanwhile, on a bilateral trade basis, Dr Lim said that total bilateraltrade between Malaysia and Jordan last year was very small.It was valued at RM358.34 million (US$94.3 million), accounting for 0.5percent of Malaysia's total global trade in that year, he said.As such Dr Lim said that Malaysia and Jordan should work together tofurther develop bilateral trade and economic ties and that the palm oiltrade is one field that the two countries could work together to enhancebilateral trade."Perhaps what is needed is more regular interaction between thebusinessmen of our two countries so as to work out feasible businesspropositions for our mutual benefits," he said.-- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Energy Centre chief executiveofficer Dr Hassan Ibrahim criticised financial institutions which were notsupportive of the government's Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) andwere sceptical in approving loans to Small Power Producers (SPPs).Dr Hassan said that financial institutions still feel that powergeneration projects under SREP were not viable, sustainable orcommercially driven.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Paos Holdings Bhd, having secured acontract to manufacturer Dettol soaps for Reckitt Benckiser (RB), seeks tooffer similar services to other well-known multinational companies.Its executive chairman, Datuk Lim Tong Yong @ Lim Tong Yaim said Paos hasbeen appointed by RB, the world's number one household cleaning (excludinglaundry detergents) company to manufacture the medicated bar soap rangeincludes the "Original" soap, "Fresh" soap and the recently launched"Sensitive" translucent soap.The group, an associated company of Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, is nowbetter placed to tap opportunities in the finished soap markets afterhaving met the ISO9001 quality management standards awarded by SGS UnitedKingdom Ltd.The group's main operating subsidiary, Paos Industries Sdn Bhd (PISB)manufactures soap chips, which are mainly exported to China, Korea andBangladesh. It also contract manufactures finished soaps for third partiesunder their own brand names.Premier Oil Industries Sdn Bhd (POISB), also in the Paos stable, makesspecialty fats and animal feed. The fats are exported mainly to Pakistanwhile the animal feed products are contract manufactured for Berg &Schmidt who distributes them to Germany and other European countries.In his latest annual statement, Lim said the increased demand for animalfeed from Europe had resulted in the group further increasing its capacityfrom 2,500 to 4,500 metric tons by the commissioning of an additionalspray cooler.With this step-up in production capacity, the future of the animal feedbusiness looks even more promising, he addedThrough its research and development with MPOB, the group has developed aprocess to manufacture palm wax using palm oil as a raw material.This palm wax can be used as a substitute for paraffin wax, which is beingutilised in the manufacture of candles.The chairman said the group had started some initial sales of palm wax tocandle manufacturers in China and South Africa, and was optimistic thatsales would grow in due course.With continued efforts to improve efficiency and competitiveness,commitment towards research and development for new products and services,the group strives to overcome the prevailing world economic slowdown andimprove its performance for the coming year, he added.The unprecedented world events, namely the terrorists attack in the UnitedStates and the consequential war in Afghanistan had a significant negativeimpact on trading conditions for the Paos group during the year ended May31, 2002.The group posted a 11.8 percent increase in turnover to RM279.9 millionfor the last financial year. However, pre-tax profit fell 45.3 percent toRM11.5 million from RM21.0 million previously.POISB's pretax profit would have been much higher than the RM6.15 millionachieved if not for the cancellations of orders from Pakistan customers asa result of the war in Afghanistan.In the case of PISB, the pretax profit of RM4.34 million was less thanone-third the amount in the previous year due mainly to high crude palmoil prices and increased competition from lower cost producers inIndonesia in the soap chips markets. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- IOI Corporation Bhd is looking atopportunities to acquire Unilever oil palm estates in Malaysia, said itsexecutive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng Friday."We have not started any negotiation but we are at the stage of doing aninternal assessment," he told reporters after the company's annual generalmeeting here.

(Soybean Digest) Less dependence on foreign oil topped the write-inresponses to a biofuels online survey just conducted by Soybean Digest.One farmer wrote: "I am sending fewer dollars to the Middle East to useagainst us and fuel terror."Another wrote: "I won't give Arab oil countries my dollars if I don't haveto."And another: "I don't like dependence on our sworn enemies for anything."As expected, some write-in responses to our survey were more passionatethan others. But most of the 353 respondents also pointed to therenewable, home-grown advantages of producing ethanol and biodiesel. Mostbelieve, and appear to be proud, that the use of renewable fuels will helpthe farm economy and the prices they get paid for corn and beans.Ethanol, of course, has long had widespread use and acceptance. But that'snot the case for new kid on the block, biodiesel.For example, a surprise in our survey is that more than half (61%) ofrespondents say biodiesel isn't available in their area or they don't knowwhere to purchase it. But of those who have used biodiesel, 94% plan tocontinue using it.So despite the promotion efforts of the United Soybean Board, the AmericanSoybean Association and the National Biodiesel Board, there's still a biggap in biodiesel availability.Eventually, state and/or federal mandatory biodiesel legislation will pumpmore life into this renewable fuel. It will also make it more readily andeasily available in your areas.Until then, demand that your local fuel supplier stock biodiesel. Beforceful and keep the biodiesel wheels rolling.To help you find out where and what's available in your area, log on tohttp://www.biodiesel.org or call your local and state soybean association.You can also stay abreast of how the renewable fuels standard isprogressing in the federal energy bill. We'll keep you posted here and atSoybeanDigest.com. Once on our site, please check out our special reportcalled "The Biofuels Boom" and the full results of our biofuels onlinesurvey.See Brazil Beans Up CloseIf you're looking for a winter getaway, take a look at Soybean Digest'sfarm tour to Brazil on Feb. 1-14, 2003. It's a tailor-made trip that getsyou to some of Brazil's biggest and best soybean production areas.Sign-up deadline is Nov. 1. For information, contact KITT Travel at800-635-5488 or log on to: http://www.kitt-travel.com/soybeef.htm

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is considering to buy milk andother dairy products from Pakistan as a means to narrow the bilateraltrade imbalance now hugely in its favour, Prime Minister Datuk Seri DrMahathir Mohamad said here Friday.But it would be up to Malaysian consumers to decide if they would switchto Pakistani milk and such products which Malaysia now largely sourcedfrom New Zealand and Australia, he told leading Pakistani businessmen at adialogue at the Serena Hotel here where the prime minister is stayingduring his two-day visit starting Friday.

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 18 (Kyodo) _ Pakistan and Malaysia signed two agreementsFriday providing for the construction of a liquid cargo terminal at PortQasim on the Arabian Sea and a $50 million barter trade between twocountries.Under the first agreement, Felda Group of Malaysia and Westbury group ofPakistan will build a liquid cargo terminal at Port Qasim to handletankers up to 35,000 tons for liquid cargo, particularly edible oil.The terminal would be a joint venture on a ''build, operate, transfer''basis and would handle 90% of the edible oil requirement of Pakistan.The chairmen of Felda group and the Westbury group signed the terminalagreement in a ceremony attended by visiting Malaysian Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad.Under the second agreement, Jawala Corp. of Malaysia and Global Oil andCommodities entered into a barter trade pact to exchange $50 million worthof Malaysian palm oil for cotton yarn, rice, fruit and other commoditiesand services from Pakistan.