Archived News

NEW DELHI (March 11 2003) : A leading Indian edible oil trade body hasestimated the country's domestic availability of vegetable oil in 2002-03(November-October) at 4.8 million tonnes compared with 6.0 million tonneslast year.

PARIS (March 11 2003) : The Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC)issued a tender on Monday to buy 20,000 tonnes of soyabean oil on an FOBbasis from Brazilian ports for shipment in May.

CHICAGO (March 08 2003) : The USDA is expected to lower its 2002/03 USsoyabean crush and end stocks estimates, and raise its US soya exports andSouth American crop estimates in next week's supply and demand report,analysts said.

HAMBURG (March 12 2003) : Global soyameal prices are set to fall fromcurrent high levels when the expected excellent South American soyabeancrops increase supplies, Hamburg-based newsletter Oil World said onTuesday.

RIO DE JANEIRO (March 12 2003) : Brazil's Association of Vegetable OilsIndustries (Abiove) said on Tuesday it raised its 2002-03(October/September) soyabean crop forecast to a record 49.6 milliontonnes, from 48.3 million tonnes in January, due to favourable cropconditions.

BOMBAY (March 12 2003) : Edible oil imports by India, the world's largestbuyer, rose 3.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.12 million tonnes inNovember-February, a trade body said on Tuesday.

ROTTERDAM (March 12 2003) : Business on the European vegetable oils marketwas picked up in the afternoon as stronger CBOT soyaoil futures triggeredlate demand, market sources said.

JAKARTA (March 12 2003) : Malaysia plans to buy up to 100,000 tonnes permonth of Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) and re-sell it due to tightdomestic output, a leading Indonesian palm oil industry official said.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, March 10 (Reuters) - Argentine soybean pricesslid on Monday on high supplies that built up in ports during a farmsector protest last week, though strong demand from crushers kept pricesfrom falling as much as expected, traders said.The market returned to normal on Monday after a week-long protest inwhich farmers, grain firms, cooperatives and brokers stopped buying andselling grains and oilseeds to pressure the government to change taxpolicy.The protest did not affect the harvest or exports -- since ports usedtheir reserves to satisfy export requirements -- and trucks continued tomake preset deliveries to ports.Traders warned last week that the buildup of supplies of grains andoilseeds during the protest could have a negative effect on prices oncethe market returned to normal.Soy fell in the main soy-exporting port of Rosario to trade at 530 pesosper tonne ($168), from 540 pesos per tonne on Feb. 28, the last session inwhich the oilseed traded."Even though we predicted a big drop in price, that didn't happenbecause there is still very strong demand for beans," said a trader inRosario, where 20,000 tonnes of the oilseed sold."It is very clear that some crushers are in great need, so they wereunable to push the price down further," he said.Corn fell 15 pesos in Rosario to close at 520 pesos per tonne and thegrain traded at 230 pesos in Bahia Blanca."The market fell a lot, especially corn, because of the number oftrucks that delivered during last week and the big supplies," said thetrader.Some 60,000 tonnes of the grain were sold in Rosario, said the trader,who estimated that was the highest sales figure since the harvest began.Wheat traded 10 pesos lower at 350 pesos per tonne in Rosario andchanged hands at between 360 and 370 pesos in Bahia Blanca and Quequen.Mills in Buenos Aires paid 380 to 395 pesos for the grain.Sunflower seeds fell 15 to 25 pesos in Rosario to trade at 480 to 490pesos per tonne, while the oilseed traded at 480 pesos in Bahia Blanca.The groups that organized last week's protest want lower income taxrates, changes in the way value-added taxes are charged and want thegovernment to refund grain firms taxes paid locally on business doneabroad.Farmers and exporters are due to meet later this week to decide on anew course of action since they have not received any signal from thegovernment that it would meet their demands.The parties have not yet set a date for the meeting, said AlbertoRodriguez, a representative of the Argentine Chamber of Vegetable OilIndustries, which represents firms like Cargill Inc. and Bunge Ltd.

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NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - India's oilseeds output in the 2002/03(November-October) crop season is forecast at 16.13 million tonnes,sharply lower from last year's 20.24 million, due to the lack of monsoonrains, a trade body said on Monday.Summer oilseeds output is expected to fall to 7.26 million tonnes from7.94 million tonnes a year earlier, the Central Organisation for OilIndustry and Trade (COOIT) said in a statement.COOIT also lowered its earlier forecast on output from the winter crop,which is harvested in October and November, to 8.87 million tonnes from9.67 million tonnes. The country produced 12.3 million tonnes in thewinter season last year.The summer crop is sown in November-December and harvested inMarch-April.India's four-month monsoon rains arrived in the southern coast on timein June, but the crucial month of July was dry in most oilseed-growingregions.

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - A leading Indian edible oil trade body hasestimated the country's domestic availability of vegetable oil in 2002/03(Nov-Oct) at 4.8 million tonnes compared with 6.0 million tonnes lastyear.The Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT) said theshortfall of 1.2 million tonnes was unlikely to lead to a similar jump inimports."The imports are going to be in the range of 4.4 to 4.6 milliontonnes," COOIT Chairman Sandeep Bajoria told Reuters.India, the world's largest importer of edible oils, bought 4.4 milliontonnes last year.It buys palm oils from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and soyoil from Argentina, Brazil and the United States.