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NEW DELHI, Aug 29 Asia Pulse - The federal Food and Commerce Ministrieshave favoured a cut in import duty on oilseeds and crude palm oil (CPO) onaccount of price increases."Federal Commerce Ministry mooted the proposal for slashing the importduty on edible oils and oilseeds, federal Food Ministry has given itsconsent to cut duty on CPO by 35 per cent and also in principle approvedcutting duty on oilseeds," official sources told PTI.They said the move has been initiated in the wake of a rise in edible oilprices in the last few months which could increase even further, owing toa fall in production leading to distress for the consumers.The proposed cut in duty on CPO will bring it down to 30 per cent from thepresent 65 per cent and "is in consumer interest", they added.It will not be addressed for any specific sector like vanaspati, whichuses CPO as the primary raw material, but for all the categories andrestricted to the next six months.A duty cut in oilseeds will also ensure sufficient raw material forextracting oils. Greater inflow of crude oils is expected to increaseutilisation of refining capacity.They said the proposal is now with the federal Finance Ministry, eventhough the federal Agriculture Ministry has opposed the move and based onthe comments of the four ministries, a final decision will be taken by theCabinet.India is the world's largest importer of edible oils and purchased 4.8million tonnes last year (November-October), including 1.4 million tonnesof CPO.

OAK BROOK, Ill., Sept. 3 (PRNewswire) -- McDonald's USA announced today asignificant reduction of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in its fried menu itemswith the introduction of improved cooking oil in all of its 13,000 restaurants

MUMBAI, Aug. 30. (Asia Intelligence Wire) - LOWER rainfall and lower thanexpected area have rendered the palm oil production outlook weak for theensuing year 2002-03 (October to September).Malaysian monthly average rainfall was 161 mm, some 39 mm below normal inthe second quarter of 2002, and so has now been below normal for 4 out ofthe last 5 quarters. The less than normal rainfall is likely to negativelyimpact palm oil yields for the 2002-03 marketing year.On the basis of Malaysian rainfall data, the US Department of Agriculture(USDA) has used the Malaysian Rainfall Regression Model to forecast yieldfor next year at 3.69 tonnes per hectare, well below 4.06 t/ha seen in2000-01 and marginally below the 5-year average of 3.76 t/ha. For 2001-02,the yield forecast is 4.01 t/ha.This projection is likely too high because the excessively high rainfallof 363 mm in the fourth quarter of 2001 may have reduced pollinationlevels and will reduce yields in the third quarter of 2002 below what themodel is projecting, USDA said.The Malaysian Palm Oil Board came out with an estimate of mature palm oilarea in 2001 of 3.01 million hectares (mha), 310,000 ha lower than hadbeen expected. As a result, mature area in 2001 increased just 63,000 hafrom 2000, less than the 128,000 ha average increase over the previousfive years.Slow increase in area can be attributed to the replanting programmeimplemented by the Malaysian Government. The programme that began in July2001 and finished in June this year was instituted to encourage producersto replace stands of trees that were more than 25 years old.Trees in 198,000 ha were cut under the replanting programme which offeredfarmers Malaysian ringgits 1,000 (US$ 263) for each hectare of land thatwas cut.Using the estimated area of 3.07 mha and model yield projection of 3.69t/ha (statistically) implies output of 11.3 mt. of crude palm oil for2002-03. However, the official USDA forecast is higher at 11.8 mt.For the current year, the model implied output using area estimated at3.01 mha, is 12.0 mt, which is higher than the official USDA estimate of11.7 mt.What all this means is that Malaysian palm oil production growth in2002-03 will be far from robust and supplies will tighten. To what extentslowdown in Malaysian output will be at least partially neutralised byIndonesia remains to be seen.It is important to remember that global vegetable oil supplies in 2002-03will show only a moderate growth caused by lower output of high oilcontent oilseeds (mainly rapeseed) and below trend growth in palm oilproduction.Demand growth prospects next year are not expected to be bright. Oncurrent reckoning, consumption is projected to grow by a modest 1.5 percent (as against the strong 3 per cent plus of recent years). However,even this modest growth in use will lead to tightening of supplies withimplications for price.For the short run, it may be noted that August and September are peakproduction months in Malaysia. Palm oil price movement will be impacted toa considerable extent by Indian purchases and tariff changes.

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, Sept. 3 (PR Newswire) - THERMO TECH(tm)TECHNOLOGIES INC. is pleased to announce that as part of its projectdevelopment program for Thermo Master(tm) Mark III-P plants in Malaysia,it has completed a service contract with design engineer Dick EngineeringInc. of Toronto Canada. The Company has previously announced that it hasretained Mensilin Holdings Sdn Bhd in association with Perunding AME SdnBhd, to perform the project specific engineering for Malaysia. By havingboth the system design engineer and an in-country engineering servicesprovider, the Company has established a sound base for delivering MarkIII-P projects to the oil palm processors with which it has beendiscussing future projects.Dick Engineering has supplied engineering services to the Company since1995, and has been retained to provide engineering services on the ThermoMaster(tm) Mark III-P projects. Dick Engineering's expertise has beenutilised on such projects to date as, troubleshooting and expansion ofexisting operations and construction of a new plant in Richmond, BC, DickEngineering has worked closely with all levels of Thermo Tech Technologiesto obtain a firm understanding of the complex biological process involved.Dick Engineering has been involved in every aspect of the system designfor the Mark III process and plant and is able to interface with theCompany's in-country engineer, Mensilin Holdings to assure fast andeffective delivery of the optimised Mark III-P plant. As a result, DickEngineering is able to provide innovative and cost effective solutions.Mr. Charles Miller, President of Thermo Tech(tm) Technologies Inc. and CEOof Firmaplus Sdn Bhd stated today, "I am pleased that our Malaysiantechnical team has been strengthened by the addition of Dick EngineeringInc.Malaysia is the world leader in palm oil production, producing almost 50%of the world's supply. Oil mills are found throughout the country,totalling approximately 380 mills with average hourly capacity of 40-45tonnes, each equating to a Thermo Master(tm) Mark III-P plant of about 600tonne per day capacity. New mills tend to be larger than the average size,more in the range of 80-90 tonnes per hour.The company is currently in discussions with a number of millers with theintention of identifying and securing the ten projects it has projectedfor the coming year. Several of these discussions have advanced to asignificant stage, while others are still at a preliminary level.Mr. Ismail Radi, Chairman commented, "We are pleased with the response ofthe palm oil industry to our initiatives. My goal is to immediatelyidentify 10 projects for sequenced starts throughout the coming year.Mr. Radi concluded, "I have waited some time to be able to announce thiskind of technical progress in building our business in Malaysia. I lookforward to being able to bring further news of developments and evenspecific projects as we begin to roll out the Thermo Master(tm) Mark III-Pplants in our market."Thermo Tech Technologies Inc. is involved in organic waste recycling.Thermo Tech's patented thermophilic process is utilized in compact andenvironmentally friendly Thermo Master(tm) plants to convert biodegradablefood waste into high protein animal feed and wastewater treatment sludgesinto fertilizer concentrate.Certain statements contained herein are "forward looking statements" (assuch term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of1995). These statements are based upon the belief of the Company'smanagement, as well as assumptions made beyond information currentlyavailable to the Company's management. Because such "forward lookingstatements" are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results maydiffer materially from those expressed or implied. Such "forward lookingstatements" include but are not limited to, competitive factors, generaleconomic condition, customer relations, relationships with vendors,government supervision and regulation, product introductions andacceptance, technological changes in industry practices, and other factorsdiscussed in filings made by the Company with the Securities and ExchangeCommission.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- To show its support to the government'saim to have five percent of the country's energy supply from renewableenergy (RE) by 2005, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) will buy the RE fromproducing companies at higher prices, said its chief executive officerDatuk Pian Sukro."One of the ways where we can support this aim, is to purchase such energyat a slightly higher price," he told reporter after officiating the TNBFamily Day here Sunday.

BANGI, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- The Government is targeting five per cent ofthe country's electricity output from the Grid Distribution System to besupplied by renewable energy sources by 2005.Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Energy Centre Dr Hassan Ibrahimsaid harnessing energy from renewable sources was necessary to lessenMalaysia's dependence on fuel sources such as oil and gas which weredepleting in the next few decades.

8/28/2002 (The Star) - The MPOPC Seminar 2002, themed "Emerging TradeIssues for Palm Oil" will highlight the current state of the industry aswell as agricultural and environmental issues pertaining to the plantingof palm oil in Malaysia, said Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council chiefexecutive officer Datuk Haron Siraj.Speaking at a press briefing, Haron said the one-day conference to be heldin Ipoh next Friday would address issues such as claims from overseasorganisations that palm oil plantations were harmful to the environment."In Malaysia, as much as 72% of the country is still green, of which morethan 50% is still natural forest, with the rest in the form of plantationsand agriculture," Haron said.He said the conference would enable relevant bodies and experts to sharewith participants the facts and to educate them on what was the actualsituation regarding the foreign claims. Haron said there were still somelocal nutritionists, for example, who were not conversant with the trueand actual health benefits of palm oil and therefore did not highlightthese benefits to the population at large."We want all the participants, be they planters, millers, refiners,nutritionists or otherwise who attend, to be educated on the benefits ofpalm oil, as then they will be able to counter (foreign) accusations ofthe dangers of planting and consuming palm oil," Haron added. Haron saidhe felt that many of the issues against palm oil and its benefits thatwere raised overseas, especially those by non-governmental organisations,were actually merely a cover for trade issues.

8/30/2002 (Financial Times) - Analysts are no longer sure if soya futureswill match the record levels of late 1980s, with China expected to startharvesting a record soyabean crop in September and Indian soya productionbenefiting from regular rains since the beginning of this month.Still, the US Department of Agriculture forecasts that a fall in worldoilseed production will keep the prices of all seeds and oils high. USoilseed production is going to take a hit of 5.8m tonnes to 82m tonnes dueto unrelenting drought in many growing centres. Dry weather will alsoaffect rapeseed production in Canada and Australia, according to USDA.The Soyabean Processors' Association of India says the country's monsoonsoya production will be more than 5m tonnes against 5.5m tonnes in2001-2002. Earlier, it was feared that the 2002-2003 crop could be as lowas 4.5m tonnes.The land under soyabean, the country's second largest oilseed aftergroundnut, is down nearly 700,000 tonnes to 5.3m tonnes. But high pricesthroughout 2002-2003 could see a transfer of land from other crops to thisoilseed, according to traders.Unlike with soyabeans the Indian monsoon groundnut crop is principallygrown in the drought-prone western state of Gujarat, so officials thinkthe monsoon crop could be less than 2m tonnes, compared with 2.7m tonneslast year.Anticipating a domestic shortfall, the country's oil extraction industryhas called on the government to cut the import duty on oilseeds andliberalise its quarantine rules. China and Japan follow this practice.In the meantime, according to the Chinese National Grain & OilsInformation Centre, China's soyabean production in 2002-2003 will be arecord 17m tonnes, up 1.6m tonnes on last year.

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department's ForeignAgricultural Service released the following report on Malaysia's cropconditions.Malaysia: Lower Rainfall and Lower Than Expected Area Reduce Palm OilProspectsMalaysian monthly average rainfall was 161 millimeters, 39 millimetersbelow normal in the second quarter of 2002, and so has now been belownormal for 4 out of the last 5 quarters. The less than normal rainfall islikely to negatively impact palm oil yields for the 2002/03 marketingyear.Yield Projected Lower for 2002/03Using the Malaysia rainfall data, yield for 2002/03 (Oct.Sept.) isforecast by the Malaysia Rainfall Regression Model (MRRM) at 3.69 tons perhectare. This is slightly below the 5-year average of 3.76 tons perhectare, and well below the 4.06 tons per hectare seen in 2000/01. TheMRRM model is projecting a yield of 4.01 tons per hectare for 2001/02.This projection is likely too high because the excessively high rainfallof 363 mm in the fourth quarter of 2001 may have reduced pollinationlevels and will reduce yield in the third quarter of 2002 below what themodel is projecting.Mature Palm Oil Area Less Than ExpectedThe Malaysian Palm Oil Board came out with an estimate of mature palm oilarea in 2001 of 3.01 million hectares, 310,000 hectares lower than hadbeen expected. As a result, mature area in 2001 increased just 63,000hectares from 2000, less than the 128,000 hectares average increase overthe previous 5 years. A large part of the reason why area increasedslowly was the replanting program that was implemented by the Malaysiangovernment. The program, which began in July 2001 and finished at the endof June 2002, was instituted to encourage producers to replace stands oftrees that were more than 25 years old. According to the MalaysianMinister of Primary Industries, 198,000 hectares of trees were cut underthe replanting program, which offered farmers MR1000 (US$263) for eachhectare of land that was cut.Production Outlook WeakUsing estimated area of 3.07 million hectares and the MRRM yieldprojection of 3.69 tons per hectare implies output of 11.3 million tons ofcrude palm oil for the 2002/03 marketing year. The MRRM projection issomewhat lower than the official USDA forecast for 2002/03, which is at11.8 million tons. The MRRM implied output for 2001/02, using areaestimated at 3.01 million hectares, is 12.0 million tons, higher than theofficial USDA estimate of 11.7 million tons.

AMSTERDAM, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Anglo-Dutch consumer products group UnileverNV/Plc said on Friday it would sell its edible oils unit Loders CroklaanGroup to Malaysia's IOI Corporation Berhad for 217 million euros cash.It said the sale was part of its sweeping reorganisation plan to cut itsbrand portfolio to 400 from 1,600 and to boost sales growth to 5.8 percentand margins to 16-17 percent by 2004.Negotiations were advanced enough to start procedures with the tradeunions, Unilever said in a statement.Loders Croklaan, which had sales of 267 million euros last year, has twomain plants in the Netherlands and the United States with smaller ones inEgypt and Canada.It has traditionally supplied the confectionary and baking industries, andalso produces nutritional oils and other ingredients.It will continue to supply Unilever -- whose product portfolio includesLipton teas, Dove soap and Skippy peanut butter -- with specialtyproducts."We are certain that Loders Croklaan's new parent company can furtherdevelop the business by adding strength in raw materials and regionalpresence in Asia," Unilever Foods Director Patrick Cescau said in thestatement.Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of palm oil.IOI Corporation is one of the biggest listed companies in Malaysia, withinterests in plantations, refining, oleochemicals and propertydevelopment, the statement noted.Unilever shares in Amsterdam closed on Thursday at 58.70 euros and inLondon at 579 pence.

WASHINGTON, August 26, 2002 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’sForeign Agricultural Service has launched a new Web site that provideseasy-to-read crop condition information for most agricultural regions inthe world.Read This Release:http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/PressRelease/pressrel_dout.asp?PrNum=0243-02

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The United States signed a deal in Islamabadon Friday to donate 37,800 tonnes of soybean oil, valued at $16 million,to Pakistan's poverty alleviation programme.The agreement was signed by U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell andPakistan's Economic Affairs Secretary Waqar Masood, the U.S. embassy saidin a statement.The United States will pay shipping costs to the southern port city ofKarachi and Pakistan will be allowed to sell the oil and use the money foragricultural development, the embassy said."The donation will help reduce pressure on the government of Pakistan'slimited foreign exchange resources and provide additional resources toimplement Pakistan's long-term poverty reduction and rural developmentprogrammes," the statement said.Last week, the United States signed a deal in Islamabad for theconsolidation and restructuring of $3 billion in debt owed by Pakistan, akey ally in its war against terror.Last November, the United States released $600 million in aid to Pakistan,which was followed by a $1.3 billion IMF poverty reduction programme andan agreement by the Paris Club of donors to restructure $12.5 billion ofdebt. The $3 billion of U.S. debt to be restructured is included in thislatter figure.USAID this month put in place a $100 million five-year programme to helpreform Pakistan's educational system and Washington is also providing lawenforcement assistance.