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25 July,2001 (Oil World Flash) - Malaysian palm oil prices recoveredyesterday and have a further rally potential in the weeks ahead due to theoutlook for a decline in stocks below the year-ago level. A slowing-downof the production coupled with continued high demand will already reducetotal Malaysian palm oil stocks below the year-ago level as of end-July.Prospects for a slowing-down of production for the remainder of this yearcould lead to a significant drawdown of stocks as end-December. Within thenext 3-5 months palm oil could even rise to a premium vis-a-vis soybeanoil. This would then shift world import demand for vegetable oil also toUS soybean oil, particularly in Oct/March 2001/02.We currently estimate total Malaysian palm oil stocks at 1.02 Mn T as ofend-July, down from the 1.08 Mn T a year ago. As of end-June stocks werevirtually unchanged from the year-ago level at 1.03 Mn T. We estimatetotal palm oil exports from Malaysia at around 870 Thd T in July, which isdown from the near-record 970 Thd T in June but still up sharply from the722 Thd T exported inJuly 2000.Some Malaysian sources indicate that Malaysian stocks as of end-July wouldbe even lower at between 0.97 and 1.0 Mn T. Malaysian palm oil exports forthe first 25 days of July amounted to 721 Thd T, down 8% from a monthearlier (according to data supplied by Intertech Testing Services thismorning), but still up sharply from last year. Very big exports took placeto the EU and India.The slowing-down of the Malaysian palm oil production will be due to adecline in the biological yield cycle (partly linked to the previousfertilizer cut) but also to a intensi-fied cuttings of old palm trees. Wereported last week that 175 Thd ha of old trees have been registered forreplanting within the government programme launched earlier this year tostimulate the necessary replanting which had been postponed and delayed inpreceding years. The government is supporting the replantings with asubsidy of Ringgit 1000 per hectare. Under current regulationsthese replantings must occur until end-December. It is possible, however,that this date might be pushed forward until next year.Dryness has become a problem in several palm oil growing areas of West andEast Malaysia. Rainfall was deficient in May with only an average 71% ofnormal in West Malaysia and 63% of normal in Sabah. According to tradereports it remains drier than usually in June and the first two weeks ofJuly. The situation must be ob-served closely, because continued drynesswould affect the trees and have an impact on production in the secondhalf of next year and early 2003.

Trans fats more harmful than saturated fats, says AHA study7/27/2001 (DataTimes )- Remember when wolfing down a big plate of fries atthe drive-in went from fun to frightful?It started when scientists discovered the heart-related dangers of foodssoaked in saturated fats, including animal-based fats like lard and palmand coconut oils. They said the solution was to cook those fries (ordoughnuts or cookies or pies) with trans fat, better known as hydrogenatedvegetable oil.Well, hold onto your junk food coupons, campers: A study reported lastweek by the American Heart Association says foods cooked with trans fatsmay be more harmful to your blood vessels than those cooked inold-fashioned saturated fat.But before you celebrate, here's the rub: Neither fat is good for you."It's not so much that we should be deciding to choose one fat overanother. The real message in this study is the need to reduce our intakeof both trans fats and saturated fats," says Cindy Moore, director ofNutrition Therapy for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a spokeswomanfor the American Dietetic Association.The goal of the research was "to compare saturated fats with trans fatsbecause of their potential to affect HDL levels," says lead study authorNicole DeRoos of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. HDL, or highdensity lipoprotein, is the "good" cholesterol that helps prevent heartdisease.DeRoos says the research showed that trans fats reduced blood vesselfunction nearly one-third more than saturated, lardlike fats, and theyreduced HDL cholesterol levels up to one-fifth more than saturated fats,increasing the risk of heart disease.DeRoos says the nasty effects are partly the result of the hydrogenationprocess that infuses substances like corn or soybean oil with a hydrogenatom, turning liquid oils to solid fats at room temperature. Trans fat,called "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils, are listed on thelabel of your favorite cookies, cakes or pies.While the negative effects of trans fats may be new to most folks, thefinding is no surprise to Moore and other nutrition experts."I think this demonstrates the ongoing recommendation of the AmericanHeart Association and others that we need to limit the amount of saturatedfats as well as trans fatty acids in our diet to no more than 10 percentof our total fat intake," Moore says.She says the rest of our fat intake, which should amount to no more than35 percent of our total dietary calories, should come from mono- orpolyunsaturated fats, like olive or canola oils in their natural, liquidstate."The chemical structure of these fats are different, and they do not havethe negative impact on our health as do the other fats. In fact, they canbe good for us," Moore says.DeRoos also warns: "Ready-made foods such as french fries, doughnuts andcrackers are the main source [of trans fatty acids in our diet], andlow-fat margarines rich in polyunsaturated fat and low in saturated fatsare still a healthier alternative than butter."

Kuala Lumpur, 26 July 2001 (Business Times) - THE Forest ResearchInstitute Malaysia (Frim) is holding talks with a government landdevelopment agency to promote agro-forestry among smallholders to helpthem improve their earnings.

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 July 2001 (Business Times) - Owners of oil palmplantations have seven more days to register with the Malaysian Palm OilBoard to receive an incentive of RM1,000 per hectare for replanting oilpalm trees.

Thursday, July 26, 2001 - PALM OIL traders have been advised againsthoarding stock in the hope that prices will further increase in the nearfuture as high production months are up ahead in September and Octoberthis year.According to Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik,although steps taken by his ministry over the last four months hadresulted in palm oil prices escalating to about RM1,200 a tonne, fromRM800, the downward trend could recur."Remember, whatever goes up can come down again," Lim said, adding thatwhile both palm oil and soya oil prices had increased recently, soya oilprices were still higher compared with palm oil's.Lim told reporters this after opening a seminar on medicinal and aromaticplants organised by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia in Kuala Lumpuron Tuesday.According to Lim, it is still possible for palm oil prices to climb higherby an additional RM200 to RM250 a tonne, placing their prices at the samelevel as that of soya oil in international markets.He said, however, that the current price discrepancy was testimony to thefact that palm oil had not been marketed aggressively enough."Plantation firms should also consider diversifying their activities toreduce dependence on a single crop," Lim said, adding that only a fewcompanies had taken up the call.According to Lim, mono-crop planters have in the past been advised towiden their scope of activities and look to cattle rearing or herbalplantation as a supplementary source of income.Unfortunately, he said, the plantation sector had proved to be veryconservative and preferred to "stick only to what they know best.""As Malaysia becomes a high-cost producer, owing to rising labour costs,plantation companies will have to think of other competitive ways to makefull use of the land and its natural resources," Lim said.Using the herbal market as an example, Lim said the herbal and aromaticmarket in Malaysia was valued at RM4.55bil but only 5% of the productsused were sourced locally because there was still the tendency to use oldtechnology which gave little added value to the product.

KUALA LUMPUR July 23 , 2001 10:05AM - An invitation to professionals toreturn home and an idea to recycle palm oil fibre waste prompted anenterprising Malaysian engineer working overseas to spawn a project thatis helping to heal the many areas left scarred by land development.

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CPO set for further volatile trade23/7/01(The Star) - CRUDE PALM OIL futures prices at the MalaysiaDerivatives Exchange (MDEX) resumed its bullish momentum last week andrebounded sharply in early trading, but the upward rally fizzled as theOctober contract failed to hold successfully above the RM1,200 per tonnelevel and encouraged many long position holders to realised their windfallprofits.The October futures contract was lifted from a weekly low of RM1,026 tofresh contract highs at RM1,238 and returned a large portion of itsearlier gains to settled the week higher at RM1,145, up RM65 per tonnefrom a week ago.Based on chart, the October futures prices are set for more wide range andchoppy trading and volatility would likely reign this week considering thelarge amount of short-term money moving in and out of the market motivatedby short-term ideas recently.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded from early lows on Monday as political tension in neighbouring Indonesia sparked talk of supply disruptions, traders said.By the midday break, the third-month October contract eased seven ringgitto 1,140 ringgit ($300) a tonne compared with Friday's closing at 1,147ringgit.