Archived News

MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia could sell eight Su-30 fightersto Indonesia before the end of the year. The $250 million contract will bepaid for mostly in commodities like palm oil.

Wednesday November 24, 2004 - FRESH from making inroads into China,Ecofuture Bhd is eyeing the Middle East as the next major market for itsEcomat, a fibrous mat made from oil palm residue for use in soil erosionprevention and in combating desert and sand storms.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 Asia Pulse - Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Berhadhas booked group pre-tax profit of RM10.848 million (US$2.9 million) forits first quarter ended 30 September 2004, up 18 per cent year-on-yearthanks to to higher fresh fruit bunch yields.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 -Many Malaysians may be dying every year ofmelioidosis, a soil disease caused by bacteria that killed 24 people inSingapore this year.But it remains a guess how many people succumb to the disease. The reason:Melioidosis is not a notifiable disease here. Therefore, medical officersand doctors do not have to inform the Health Ministry when their patientsdie of the disease.

24/11/04 - Soya oil prices are likely to appreciate in Jan/March 2005, dueto seasonally low production and a decline in world stocks. An importantprice-determining factor will be the development of Chinese soya oilpurchases. Reduced Chinese purchases in recent months and the sharpdecline in Argentine and Brazilian soya oil exports to China in Sept/Nov2004 were major bearish factors for soybean oil. As we point out below,the decline in Chinese soya oil imports during Oct/Dec 2004 will lead to apronounced reduction of Chinese stocks, resulting in higher domesticprices as well as pent-up demand and higher soya oil imports in Jan/March2005 and subsequent months. (For more details see below.) The US dollarweakened further yesterday and fell to a new 9-year low against majorcurrencies. The Euro rallied to a record high of 1.3103 dollar in Germany.There is ongoing concern in the market about the huge deficits in both theUS trade balance as well as the US budget. World crushings of soybeans areincreasing seasonally. For Oct/Dec 2004 we expect a world crush of 45.9 MnT, up by 2.4% from a year earlier. This compares with year-on-yeardeclines of 6.0% in July/Sept and 1.7% in April/June 2004. US soybeancrushings reached a new record in October and are likely to establish arecord level in Oct/Dec 2004. But soybean crushings are still runningbehind the year-ago level in Europe, Japan and some other importingcountries. The weak world import demand for soybean meal kept Argentineand Brazilian soybean 2 0 0 4 crushings below the year-ago level inOctober and we expect the soybean crush in the two countries to be alsodown from last year in Oct/Dec 2004.

11/24/2004 WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. - Soybean rust, a defoliating fungus thatprevents proper plant development and reduces crop yields, has migrated toArkansas.

Tuesday, 23 November 2004 - UNADULTERATED PALM oil ("Ngo") is noted tocontain countless therapeutic benefits to the human immune system, whentaken every day.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Deputy Minister of International Tradeand Industry Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah will be leading a tradeand investment promotion mission to Peru and Brazil starting thisWednesday, Nov 24 till Dec 4.

Tuesday November 23, 11:38 AM KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Edible oil pricesare likely to fall in 2005, with Malaysian crude palm oil futures expectedto touch MYR1,300 a metric ton amid supply pressures from large globaloilseed crops, influential analyst Dorab E. Mistry said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- In a move to create public awareness onthe need to use environment-friendly energy sources, the Malaysian PalmOil Board (MPOB) will hold a test drive using biofuel on Dec 5.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- The government is reviewing the rolesand objectives of the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority(Risda) to increase smallholders' income under the rubber replantingscheme, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday.

Nov 17 3:26 PM - Net oil importer Thailand plans to expand oil palmplantations six-fold by 2008 to use the oil to mix with diesel, reducingits import bill and boosting farmer incomes, Energy Minister PromminLertsuridej said yesterday.