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BOMBAY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - India's edible oil imports are expected to fallthis year as domestic supply is likely to increase on prospects of abetter oilseed crop compared with the previous year, traders said onMonday.India, the world's top edible oil buyer, is likely to import 4.45 to 4.50million tonnes of oil in the crop year 2001/02 (November-October), downfrom 4.80 million tonnes the previous year, they said."Imports are bound to fall this year with rising domestic availability,"B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association ofIndia, told Reuters.Oilseed output in the current crop year is expected to rise because goodmonsoon rains have helped the winter crop and left enough moisture in thesoil for the summer crop, traders said.The winter crop is planted during the monsoon season in June-July andharvested in October and November, while the summer crop is sown inNovember-December and harvested in March-April.Output from the winter crop this year is forecast to rise to 12.3 milliontonnes from 10.9 million in the previous year, when a severe drought hitmany parts of the country, Mehta said.Summer output is estimated at 7.1 million to 7.4 million tonnes, higherthan the previous year's 6.5 million, but lower than an earlier projectionof about 8.5 million tonnes."The main oilseed producing belt in northern India received poor rainshitting the summer season crop," said G.G. Patel, an edible oil traderbased in the western city of Rajkot.He said this had led to scaling down the earlier output projection.With the expected rise in oilseeds production, domestic oil supply islikely to be higher by 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes this year, traders said.But oil imports will fall only by 300,000 to 350,000 tonnes as localconsumption is likely to increase by about 350,000 tonnes, against earlierestimates of a 500,000-tonne rise."Local demand will not rise very fast due to the poor state of the Indianeconomy and higher domestic oil prices," said Sandeep Bajoria, managingdirector of Bajoria Fats and Proteins Ltd, adding that the average pricesof domestic oils have risen about 25 percent so far this year.But a rise in production this year would encourage farmers to grow moreoilseeds, which would result in a drop in oil imports in subsequent years,traders said.OIL MIXThe import ratio of palm oils to soft oils is likely to remain unchangedthis year despite a sharp devaluation of the currency in Argentina, amajor exporter of soybean oil, traders said.Argentina recently fixed its official exchange rate at 1.40 pesos per U.S.dollar for exports and government transactions, a 29 percent devaluation."If soyoil becomes cheaper after April-May, Malaysian and Indonesianexporters would be prompted to cut prices of palm oils accordingly," saida Bombay-based oil trader.Argentina will harvest new soybean crop from April, traders said.India imports palm oils, which is about 60 to 65 percent of total edibleoil imports, from Malaysia and Indonesia. The remaining soft oil is mainlyimported from South American countries.Traders said during the current year India was likely to import an average30,000 tonnes of RBD palm olein, 60,000-70,000 tonnes of crude palm oleinand 140,000-150,000 tonnes of CPO every month.The country's edible oil imports fell by nearly 12 percent to 609,464tonnes in the first two months of the current oil year from 689,523 tonnesin the same period a year earlier.

21 January, 2002 (Business Times) - A UNITED States-based publicrelations company will be appointed next month to promote and maximise theuse of palm oil and byproducts from oil palm trees for the internationalmarket.The company, Arthur De'Little International, will be assigned to list downnew discoveries related to the oil palm products and find potentialcompanies that could develop end-products.The products will include those which use the oleochemical derivativesfrom the palm oil and the biomass which is made from the trunks, frondsand empty fruit branches of the trees.Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said the NationalEconomic Action Council had discussed the appointment of the company withthe Ministry on Saturday after it (NEAC) met the company's representativesrecently.Dr Lim said details of the terms and conditions of the appointment wouldbe disclosed after the agreement was signed in two weeks.He said most of the new discoveries made by the Palm Oil ResearchInstitute of Malaysia were not being utilised or commercialised.For example, he said, only two companies were involved in the productionand utilisation of fibreboard from oil palm biomass even though thecountry produced between 30 million and 50 million tonnes of theby-product annually.He said the Government also planned to promote the oleochemicalderivatives in China and other countries after it had been succesfullydeveloped and widely used in branded cosmetics and toiletries in Europeand the US.He said the Government was seeking to diversify the use of palm oilproducts after the commodity price plunged to as low as RM670 per tonne inFebruary last year."In the past two years the price of crude palm oil had several timesfallen below the production cost and that had severely affectedsmallholders," he told reporters after launching a free health-screeningprogramme for residents of Kampung Baru Ayer Tawar, Ayer Tawar in Perakyesterday.He said the new approach was needed to maintain the price of the commodityafter it had stabilised to between RM1,200 and RM1,300 per tonne in thepast few months.Price stability came about after the Government introduced severalmeasures which included requesting power generating companies to use palmoil as combustion fuel and encouraging replanting of oil palm trees amongsmallholders and estates.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Total palm oil stocks in the countrydropped 6.27 percent to 1.213 million tonnes in December last year from1.294 million tonnes in November, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB),said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Palm oil, the "golden crop" of Malaysia,will contribute to a better foreign exchange for the country in 2002 asthe commodity is currently enjoying better price compared with prices lastyear.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council(MPOPC) is looking at the possibility of opening another office in Chinawith the latter's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). "Ifthings work out, we would certainly want to see another office, perhaps inShanghai. This is something we are working on," said its chief executiveofficer, Datuk Haron Siraj.

BINTULU, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, trying to make it big in the worldof container shipping, last year handled a total of 7.3 million TEUs(20-foot-equivalent units) through its various seaports, according tolatest official figures.

PULAU PINANG, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Producers of power from renewable energysources such as solar and biomass have been urged to produce more poweramounting to 10 megawatt to help the government reach its target of powergeneration from new energy sources at between 500 MW and 600 MW or fivepercent more in the next four years.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Sri Lanka Rubber Research Insititutedirector Dr L.M.K Tillekeratne says his comments published early this yearthat replanting rubber estates with oil palm without serious scientificstudy could damage the environment was only applicable to the Sri Lankasituation.

15 January, 2002 (Business Times) - BIG ships are still unable to collectcrude palm oil from Belawan port in Indonesia, forcing some vessels todivert to Malaysia as efforts to remove a sinking dredger move at a snail’s pace, traders said yesterday.

WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Department said on Mondayfavorable weather in key crop-growing regions has positioned Argentina toproduce a huge soybean harvest."(Argentina's) weather pattern to date has been nearly ideal, supportingrapid growth and development of the crop," USDA's Foreign AgriculturalService said.Last week, USDA projected 2001/02 soybean crop at a record 42.5 milliontonnes, up 1 million tonnes from December's estimate. USDA said somesoybean-growing regions received below average rainfall from Octoberthrough December, "but moisture accumulations have kept pace with orexceeded crop requirements to date."Areas of concerns are limited to western Santa Catarina and Rio Grande doSul. USDA said rainfall was needed in these areas to prevent crop stress.On Monday, worries about dry Brazilian soy crop weather boosted soybeanfutures at the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybean futures for March deliveryclosed up 3-3/4 cents at $4.46-3/4 per bushel.Independent Brazilian forecaster Somar forecast lingering dry weatheracross Brazil's southern soybean growing region. However, rain could reachRio Grande after Jan. 22, Somar said. In Parana, another southern state,rain was expected at the end of the week, while rains were seen falling inthe center-west, Somar said.

JAKARTA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Trade and Industry Ministry saidthe base price for crude palm oil (CPO) and its by-products would remainunchanged for another month. "There's no change. It is extended becausethere's no significant change at the international market compared tolast month," an official at the ministry told Reuters. The current baseprice, used to calculate export taxes, will remain valid until February12.The country currently imposes a three percent tax on CPO and palm kerneland a one percent tax on refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm oil,RBD palm olein and crude olein. Indonesia levies the tax to control theflow of palm oil exports, which usually rise sharply when the rupiahweakens and international prices increase.The rupiah was quoted at 10,390/10,400 against the dollar by 0400 GMT.The following table shows the base prices for palm oil and itsby-products:

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian commodity industry needs atotal restructuring that would benefit the smallholders, said PrimaryIndustries minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik.