Archived News

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SHAH ALAM, June 17 (Bernama) -- International flavours and foodingredients manufacturer, Quest International and its joint venturepartner, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, are doubling the production capacity intheir Malaysian emulsifier plant as a long term strategy to meet globaldemand for an alternative to soybean oil and animal fat-based foodemulsifier.Chairman of the board of directors of the joint venture company, EsterolSdn Bhd, Declan MacFadden said that the company was now in the finalstages of commissioning an expansion of production capacity to 30,000metric tonnes per annum."The total investment for the Esterol plant amounts to RM57 million todate," he said at a press conference after the official opening of EsterolSdn Bhd.The food emulsifier produced by Esterol is mainly used to enhance thetaste and quality of food."Our biggest drivers for growth have been the bakery, dairy andconfectionery markets," he said.Fadden said the company's main raw material was palm oil which wasaccepted in many countries due to its nutritional benefits as opposed togenetically modified types of vegetable oils."Some 90 percent of the emulsifier that Esterol produces are for exportswhile the balance are for local consumption in Malaysia," he said.The main export markets are in Europe, North America, Australia and China.Chairman of Quest, Paul Drechsler said the Esterol plant was the onlymanufacturing site for the production of emulsifier in Asia.Quest has another two plants, one in Canada and the other in theNetherlands. -- BERNAMA

SHAH ALAM, June 17 (Bernama) -- Palm oil producers have been urged to gofor large scale, lower cost productions to take advantage of the high palmoil price currently.In making this call, Primary Industries Minister, Datuk Seri Lim KengYaik, said that Crude Palm Oil (CPO) price had risen steadily to RM1,450per tonne from RM700 per tonne a year ago.

AYER TAWAR (Perak), June 16 (Bernama) -- The Primary Industries Ministryhas set a minimum production quota for primary commodities to help rubber,oil palm and cocoa smallholders earn good income, Minister Datuk Seri DrLim Keng Yaik said Sunday.He said smallholders and government agencies like Risda, Felda and Felcrashould abide by the quota as it was a productive production capacity.

JOHOR BAHARU, June 14 (Bernama) -- The Pasir Gudang industrial area herewhich produces almost 600 million tonnes of palm oil a year, plans tofurther expand its palm oil based downstream activities.Chief executive of Johor Corporation (JCorp), Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim,Friday said that to meet the objective, more companies would be encouragedto start palm oil based downstream activities in Pasir Gudang.

BOMBAY, June 13 (Reuters) - India's edible oil imports rose 26.4 percentto 471,570 tonnes in May from a year earlier, a leading trade body said onThursday.India, the world's largest edible oil importer, purchases palm oil mainlyfrom Malaysia and Indonesia and soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.Imports of crude palm oil (CPO) in May more than doubled to 216,249 tonnesfrom 95,128 tonnes, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India said in astatement.India imported 101,242 tonnes of crude palm olein during the month againstnil imports in the same month of the previous year.But imports of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm olein plummetedto just 9,434 tonnes in May from 103,320 tonnes a year earlier, thestatement said.The sharp fluctuation in palm oil imports was mainly due to a change inimport duties effected by the government last year, which prompted tradersto switch to crude oils from refined ones.India currently imposes a 85 percent basic import duty on refined oil, 65percent on crude palm oil and 45 percent on soybean oil.Imports of soybean oil (degummed) marginally fell to 137,745 tonnes in Mayfrom 145,093 tonnes a year earlier.During November-May, the first seven months of the oil year, imports fell19 percent to 2.15 million tonnes from 2.66 million, the statement said.CPO imports were up 27.6 percent to 1.09 million tonnes, while imports ofsoybean oil rose by 24.9 percent to 505,454 tonnes during the same period.Imports of RBD palm olein fell sharply to 118,895 tonnes in November-Mayfrom 1.05 million tonnes, but crude plam olein imports substantiallyincreased to 415,174 tonnes from just 14,520 tonnes in the same period ofthe previous year.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Derivatives Exchange Bhd(MDEX) is considering the cross trading of derivative products with otherexchanges in the region in order to provide greater liquidity anddiversity of derivatives products.Cross trading is an effective option for regional derivatives exchanges toconsider in expanding investor interest in regional derivative products,MDEX chief operating officer Dr Zaha Rina Zahari said.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 (Bernama) -- An increase of one percent in the oilextraction rate (OER) could bring in an annual RM17 million revenue forKumpulan Guthrie Bhd (KGB), said its group chief executive officer, TanSri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim here Thursday.He said the amount was based on their current production of 300,000 metrictonnes of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) with an average price of RM1,100 to RM1,200per metric tonne.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysian palm oil can effectivelycompete with other edible oil in the international market, PrimaryIndustries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said here Thursday.He said that this could be done by decreasing production cost, increasinglevel and undertaking innovative marketing and packaging.

ROME, June 11 (Reuters) - Canada slammed the United States on Tuesday overthe high level of subsidies in its new farm bill which it said increasedprotection for U.S. agriculture and prevented poor countries fromcompeting in global agricultural markets."The United States is building on the already high level of subsidies thatthey had and increasing production, thereby distorting prices," CanadianAgriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief told Reuters during a U.N.-backed WorldFood Summit.U.S. President George W. Bush signed a six-year law last month boostingU.S. crop and dairy subsidies by 67 percent despite protests from U.S.trade partners.The new law adds an estimated $6.4 billion a year to crop and dairyspending and marks a further retreat from free-market reforms begun in1985. The fatter subsidies will become available at harvest."They are adding to what they were doing in the past by being the onlycountry in the world to subsidise pulse crops," Vanclief said, referringto crops of peas and lentils.Canada said in a news release that the U.S. farm bill and EU subsidiesdistorted world commodity markets and hindered developing nations' abilityto compete in world markets."New support payments for some American pulse crops will especially impactdeveloping nations that are significant producers of these crops,"Vanclief said."A fair and market-oriented international trading system is vital toeliminate poverty and hunger."Vanclief told Reuters developing nations would find it harder to competein global wheat, maize, lentil and pea markets due to the increased U.S.farm bill subsidies."They (U.S.) added pulse crops, they increased it (subsidies) to corn,they left it about the same for soybeans," the minister said.U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, in an interview with Reuters onMonday, denied that the U.S. farm bill had increased protection of U.S.agriculture and said the United States was committed to droppingtrade-distorting subsidies."It (the farm bill) does nothing to increase protection at our border,"she said. "It does not change what the developing countries can export toour country."She added: "We want to eliminate export subsidies. We want tosubstantially increase market access by lowering tariffs. Our tariffs areabout 12 percent for food and agriculture. Around the world, such tariffsaverage about 62 percent.""We want to substantially reduce domestic supports that aretrade-distorting."However, the farm bill has come in for widespread criticism fromindustrialised and developing countries alike."We wish there was no such bill because it sets a bad example," AustralianAgriculture Minister Warren Truss told a news conference on Tuesday.The world food summit, organised by the United Nations Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO), aims to revive enthusiasm in the war onhunger. It ends on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- The country's crude palm oil (CPO)output for May 2002 rose by 6.98 percent to 924,797 tonnes from 864,467tonnes a month earlier.Out of this, Peninsular Malaysia's production accounted for 542,042tonnes, higher by 8.58 percent from April's 499,224 tonnes, the MalaysianPalm Oil Board (MPOB) said in a statement here Wednesday.

KOTA KINABALU, June 11 (Bernama) -- Local exporters and importers havebeen told to be careful and check thoroughly the details and conditionsset in the letters of credit from their overseas customers.RHB Bank Bhd's manager for marketing and business development, TradeServices Division, Mohd Radzi Md Jani said the letter of credit was apayment mode for imports and exports through a bank and that it containedthe terms of business agreed upon by both the importer and exporter.