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KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures (MDEX) were upon Monday morning but dealers said the market could dip in the latesession following uninspiring crop data from the government.The official Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said just as the marketclosed for the morning that production, exports and closing stocks forApril were all down from a month ago.Speculation that MPOB's numbers could be friendlier than the Aprilestimates of private crop forecaster Ivan Wong had kept the market up inthe early session, traders said."But now, we find that the MPOB's numbers are quite different fromIvan Wong's," a dealer said. "At the best, what we have is aneutral-to-bearish picture."MPOB said crude palm oil output fell 3.31 percent to 863,120 tonnes inApril from 892,629 in March.It said end-April palm oil stocks were down 9.68 percent to 1.06million tonnes against 1.17 million tonnes at end-March.Exports stood at 861,537 tonnes against 893,241 tonnes in March, itsaid.Wong last week estimated April production at 858,000 tonnes, exportsat 870,000 and closing stocks at 1.04 million.Palm oil's benchmark third-month July futures in Kuala Lumpur were upnine ringgit at 1,262 ringgit a tonne in Monday's morning session. Volumewas below average at 780 lots.In physical palm oil, the May/June contract for the southern andcentral regions saw bids at 1,265 ringgit a tonne, against sale offers at1,270. No business was reported.

ARGENTINA, May 9, 2002 (USDA) -- Lack of credit and devaluation of theArgentine peso are expected shift area next year to crops which requirelower inputs such as soybeans and sunflower. Soybean production this yearis estimated to increase to 30 million tons (up 500,000 tons from theprevious estimate). Soybean production next year is expected to be 29.5million tons, as lower yields offset higher area.

13 May 2002 (Business Times) - NOVAGREEN Industries Corp of thePhilippines is banking on its proposed collaboration with Malaysia’sINDEXgain Sdn Bhd to expand its oil palm plantation business in Mindanao.Its chief operating officer, Albert Magallanes, said the company and thePhilippines stand to gain from this collaboration, especially withMalaysia’s proven expertise in the oil palm industry.“While we are able to expand our business in the oil palm sector, thiswill be a stepping stone for the development of the industry, which willalso boost the Philippine economy, especially Mindanao’s,” he toldBusiness Times in Kuala Lumpur recently.Magallanes was in Kuala Lumpur to meet the trade counsellor at thePhilippine embassy, Glenn G. Penaranda, to discuss the proposedcollaboration with INDEXgain to develop 10,000ha of oil palm plantation inTalakag, Mindanao.Novagreen, a tuna fish exporter, and INDEXgain, an authorised procuratorof a specialised project funding loan syndicated house, signed amemorandum of agreement (MOA) on December 7 last year to develop a US$60million (US$1 = RM3.80) oil palm plantation in Talakag.“We are in the second stage of negotiations, which is on funding for theproject,” Magallanes said, adding that it will be the largest oil palmplantation in Mindanao if it takes off.At present, the largest oil palm plantation in Mindanao, covering 6,800ha,is being developed by Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd.“We expect no fewer than 6,000 workers, including skilled ones, to work inour oil palm plantation,” Magallanes said.But what is important, he added, is that it will be an integrated estate,which will lead to the development of a township. “All operations,including those of government and non-governmental agencies, will becentralised in one area, equipped with social facilities.”Magallanes said there is increasing interest from growers to offer theirland for consolidation into the oil palm plantation.Novagreen president and chief executive officer Racquel S. Simon said sheis confident that the project will be a success through the joint venturewith a Malaysian group.Furthermore, she said, Magallanes’ nine years of experience as manager ofan oil palm plantation in Kalimantan is a plus point for Novagreen toprosper in this sector.Besides Talakag, Novagreen and INDEXgain plan to develop other areas withoil palm which include Arakan, Agusan, Saranggani and North Davao.Including Talakag, investments for the projects are expected to be withinrange of US$234 million.Novagreen and INDEXgain, which had completed their due diligence on theproject will submit a report to INDEXgain's principal company, based inLienchtenstein, Switzerland for loan approval.INDEXgain executive director Jumahat Subaree said the companies arecurrently fine-tuning the report."We will leave for Lienchtenstein on May 29 to submit the comprehensivereport," he said.He reiterated that INDEXgain is not a joint venture partner withNovagreen, merely facilitating syndicated loan for the project.But the company will provide management skill in handling oil palmplantation."A reserach centre will also be developed in the area to create a pool ofoil palm managers. We hope that the local filipinos will manage the oilpalm in future," he said.Jumahat said its collaboration with Novagreen will provide an opportunityfor other Malaysian companies to invest in Mindanao.For instance, he said the company is bringing along with them a Malaysianarchitect to design affordable houses for the workers, as well asgovernment and public buildings.KACArchitect, INDEXgain's associate company, is helping to help design thehouses and buildings in the area.Its principal, Khairil Anwar Halim said the company is looking at building1,500 units of affordable houses of bungalows and semi-detached houses."Initially, we are looking at between US$7 million and US$8 millioninfrastructure investment," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd is set to improvethe quality of oil palm plants by investing about RM3 million inbiotechnology research, locally and internationally.Through its wholly owned subsidiary Guthrie Biotech Laboratory Sdn Bhd(GBLSB), today Guthrie has entered into research collaboration agreementswith Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia(UKM).

9 May 2002 (Business Times) - MALAYSIA’S palm oil stock is expected to dipbelow one million tonnes by June, from 1.25 million tonnes at thebeginning of the year, mostly due to lower production amid stable exports.“Predictions by various quarters of an 11.5 million tonne output for thisyear, down from last year’s 11.8 million tonnes, look increasingly likelyto prove accurate,” a trader said.Various people had said the sector would start showing signs of biostressthis year after chalking up strong production growth of 10.55 milliontonnes in 1999, 10.84 million in 2000 and 11.8 million last year.They include Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik,Malaysian Palm Oil Association chief executive M.R. Chandran and a host ofanalysts.Industry watchdog Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) in a posting on itswebsite appears to confirm the prediction saying that national palm oilstock had, from 1.25 million tonnes in January and 1.29 million inFebruary, declined to 1.17 million in March.Private forecaster Ivan Wong puts end-April stock at 1.05 million tonnes,which will fall further to 935,000 in June and 845,000 in July.Official figures for April such as exports, stock and production are dueto be released by MPOB on May 12.Meanwhile, Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd, Guthrie Ropel Bhd and Highlands andLowlands Bhd all reported sharp declines in palm oil production for themonth of March year-on-year.Kumpulan Guthrie produced 20,925 tonnes (down 13 per cent), Guthrie Ropel4,535 tonnes (down 12.6 per cent), and Highlands and Lowlands 12,286tonnes (down 12.9 per cent).IOI Corp Bhd, however, boosted output 8.9 per cent to 193,854 tonnes fromFebruary.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil traders see apossible payoff from political uncertainty in Argentina, the world's thirdlargest producer of soybeans, a direct competitor of palm oil.Soybean harvests are expected to gain pace in Argentina this month. ButArgentina's financial chaos - including default on the national debt,devaluation of the peso and the threat of insolvency in its banking system- may restrict exports, Kuala Lumpur palm oil traders said on Monday."The peso is still floating against the dollar, which means farmerswill not sell forward. No-one is sending full cargoes from Argentina,"said one trader in Kuala Lumpur.Argentina has harvested a little more than a third of its projected29.5 million tonne crop but traders said farmers may continue to retainmore merchandise in the absence of a clear economic recovery plan.Kuala Lumpur palm oil traders are closely watching progress of soybeanharvests throughout South America.Brazil, the second largest global soy producer after the United States,has nearly completed harvesting its soy crop, forecast by United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) at a record 43.5 million tonnes.

Tuesday, May 7, 2002 (The Star) - MALAYSIA is aiming at an annualproduction of four tonnes of palm oil for every hectare of oil palmbeginning next year.Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said the palm oilindustry needed to be serious about achieving the production target, asnot meeting it could mean a big loss for the country.Citing an example, he said the country should have earned RM1.2bil morelast year if the average four tonnes per hectare had been achieved basedon an average price of RM1,000 per tonne of palm oil.Dr Lim said that in the last 10 years (1992–2001), the average annualproduction of palm oil had not changed much from 3.5 tonnes per hectareLast year, the average production was 3.7 tonnes.“Oil palm is the most productive plant, with the capacity to produce eightto 10 tonnes of palm oil annually, beating other oilseed crops.“However, the national productivity level has not changed and indeed ithas not even reached half the capacity of its real potential,’’ he said inhis address at the opening of the “MPOB Transfer of Technology 2002’’ and “On Elevating The National Oil Palm Productivity and Recent Progress in theManagement of Peat and Ganoderma,’’ seminar in Bangi yesterday.And in line with the new production target, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board(MPOB) has been directed to launch a productivity campaign, Four TonnesCampaign, among the production sector throughout the country to increaseawareness as well to encourage and boost production capacity.Dr Lim said the campaign would pay more attention to the smallholdersector.There are 92,000 smallholders working on a total oil palm plantation areaof 380,000ha or 11% of the total oil palm land in the country.According to an MPOB survey, the average production capacity of asmallholder at 14 to 15 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hectare was muchsmaller than the 20 tonnes produced by the estate sector. — Bernama(The informations and opinions expressed in this article represent theviews of the author only. They should not be seen as necessarilyreflecting the views of Palm News)

TASEK GELUGOR, May 2 (Bernama) -- The federal government will provideRM130 million allocation this year to help rubber, oil palm and coconutsmallholders nationwide to increase their income, said Deputy AgricultureMinister Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar Thursday.

Thursday, May 2, 2002 (The Star) - FRESH from heady sales in March andApril, Malaysia’s palm oil industry is wondering what’s in store in thecurrent month as arch rival soy prepares to bounce back.The world’s top palm oil producer shipped just less than two milliontonnes over the last two months, thanks mostly to China, whose recentdelay in approving bio-engineered food permits led to a rush of palm oilimports there, at the expense of soy.Malaysian exports were also helped by the crisis in the Argentinean andLatin American soy trade and a strong rupiah that pushed up the price ofcompeting palm products from Indonesia.But with the rupiah appearing to have stabilised somewhat, and signs thatArgentina’s economic and political woes may be coming to an end, palm oilexporters in Kuala Lumpur said they were getting nervous of prospects thismonth.“Whatever export hopes we’ve had for April have all been discounted,” theshipping manager at a palm oil brokerage in KL said on Tuesday. “Themarket’s real test will be how it performs in May.’’Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), the main export tracker for theMalaysian palm oil market, said on Tuesday it noted a shipment volume of947,791 tonnes in April, against 975,904 for March and 733,101 forFebruary.China was the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil for April, taking211,370 tonnes, against 211,945 in March and 143,115 in February.India, the world’s biggest edible oils buyer, took 203,620 tonnes of palmoil in April, up from 109,290 in March and 112,740 in February, SGS said.Export projections for May have so far only come from Malaysian cropforecaster Ivan Wong, who said a week ago that up to 880,000 tonnes couldbe shipped in the current month.But palm oil dealers said Wong’s projections might be a little toooptimistic. “Argentina is returning to the market and will spare no effortin getting its exports back on track,’’ said a dealer. “I think thepicture for palm oil looks cloudy at the best.’’Argentina has a 30-million-tonne soybean crop, waiting to be harvested,crushed and delivered to the world.Dealers in KL said they could only hope that China would maintain itscurrent buying of palm oil.Beijing has committed to import up to 2.4 million tonnes of palm oil thisyear under World Trade Organisation obligations.But 67% of this, or 1.6 million tonnes, have been allocated to privateimporters, who still have discretion to decide if it was competitive tobuy palm oil, traders said.The Chicago Board of Trade said on Tuesday that Chinese importers had beenactively procuring Brazilian soy and a number of deals have been closed inthe past weeks. – Reuters

4/29/2002 (Soyatech) - The Malaysian Palm Oil Rural Market PromotionProgramme in Bangladesh was launched last Saturday at Hathazari, a villagenear port city Chittagong.The objective of the programme is to promote and popularise palm oil as anedible ail among the rural population of the country.It is the second such programme organised in Bangladesh by the MalaysianPalm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC) and the. Bangladesh Edible Oil Ltd, aprivate company marketing palm oil in this country. The first programmevas held just one year ago when promotional activities and campaign wereconducted in 60 villages. Encouraged by good response from the ruralpeople last year, the MPOPC has organised this second programme whenanother 60 villages under 30 districts will be covered.During this programme, the facts about nutritious and healthful palm oilwill be conveyed to the rural consumers by the workers sand volunteers ofthe MPOPC. Bangladesh Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhuryinaugurated the programme at Hathazari in Chittagong.Appreciating the move of the MPOPC to popularise palm oil, the ministerexpressed the hope that the trade and economic relations betweenBangladesh and Malaysia would be strengthened further in the coming days.Malaysian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Ashaary Sani, the CEO of MPOPCDatuk Haron Siraj, country manager of MPOPC for Bangladesh AKM FakhrulAlam and general manager of Bangladesh Edible Oil Ltd Yip Yoon Jee alsoaddressed the function. Moushumi, a popular film actress was also presentat the function and said that Palm oil was now a well-known and popularedible oil among the housewives of Bangladesh."Housewives like this cholesterol - free edible oil enriched, with vitaminE which helps to maintain good health"., she told the largely attendedfunction.According to MPOPC officials, palm oil's popularity in Bangladesh has beensteadily increasing. A total of 350,000 tonnes of edible palm oil in crudeform were imported in Bangladesh in 2001 which was about 40 per cent oftotal import of edible oils. "During the last 'three months (January -March) a total of 96,435 tonnes of palm oil were imported in Bangladesh,"they said. - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, May 1. (NSTP) — Malaysia could lead in biotechnologydevelopment in the region as it is taking the right steps in expanding andpromoting the field.

24 April 2002 (Business Times) - PLANS to double-track the main railwaylines in Peninsular Malaysia may suffer a setback as one of the foreigncontractors involved in the project is said to be under graftinvestigations.The Government has agreed to parcel out the project to Indian RailwayConstruction Co (Ircon) and a consortium led by China Railway EngineeringCorp.The former is being investigated, according to a report on the IndianExpress’ website dated March 9.Industry sources were divided about the news, with some saying the projectwill be delayed while others insist it will take off as scheduled thisyear.“The investigations have no direct link whatsoever with the project here.They involve the company’s deals elsewhere and its previous managingdirector,” a source told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.“In fact, Ircon is appointing a new project director to expedite theMalaysian project,” added the source who confirmed that the investigationsare on-going.But the Indian Express report claimed that Indian Railway Minister NitishKumar had called for files following reports that senior bureaucrats athis ministry were overly keen to hand the Malaysian project’s consultancyservices to a Malaysian company.The firm is said to be charging between 8-9 per cent of the project costcompared to 4.5 per cent quoted by three other bidders.The allegations first surfaced when Kumar’s predecessor Mamata Banerjeeclaimed that Ircon’s former managing director Arun Prasad had pushed forthe contract to be awarded to the Malaysians.Prasad retired on January 31 last year.Banerjee had written a confidential letter to Indian Prime Minister AtalBehari Vajpayee, which was leaked to the press.She said Ircon should not participate in the project in view of the flurryof serious allegations of corruption levelled against Prasad in connectionwith “certain on-going projects in Malaysia”.“It was necessary for me to ensure that before Ircon is permitted tofurther participate in the project in Malaysia, the corruption allegationsare duly verified by the authorities.“I would like to inform you that the preliminary investigations havesubstantiated the very serious allegations of corruption against Prasad.We are taking follow-up action on the vigilance report very soon,”Banerjee wrote.The report further said the unusual interest shown by the MalaysianGovernment in trying to get an extension for Prasad also raised eyebrows.Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik had suggested in a letterto his Indian counterpart Kumar that Prasad should continue in service andnot be retired, the report added.Dr Ling and Ircon’s current managing director B.S. Kapur and Irconofficials based in Malaysia could not be reached for comment.Sources said that weeks after the memorandum of understanding for theproject was signed in Kuala Lumpur, a board meeting of Ircon attended byPrasad decided that the consultancy services contract be awarded to theMalaysian company.India’s anti-corruption agency, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC),has since stepped in and its commisioner V.S. Mathur recently recommendedthat action be taken against Prasad.Meanwhile, a Malaysian Government official said the developments will haveno bearing on the counter trade deal as it is entirely an Ircon internalmatter.“It has got nothing to do at the Government level and I’m sure Ircon willstick to the deal and clean up its house accordingly.”Malaysia had in May last year endorsed the participation of India andChina in the railway project under a RM12 billion counter-trade programmeinvolving payment in crude palm oil for work done.The deal will see the delivery of around eight million tonnes of thecommodity over a period of between five and six years to the twocountries.Ircon, which is a state-run engineering and construction firm, willundertake double-tracking and electrification works for the northern gridspanning 338.8km that links Ipoh with Padang Besar. The parcel is worthRM6 billion.China Railway and local partners DRB-HICOM Bhd, Emrail Sdn Bhd and KienHuat Group, on the other hand, will work on the 297km southern gridlinking Seremban and Johor Baru, which is also valued at RM6 billion.The railway forms part of the Trans-Asia Rail Grid stretching fromSingapore to Kunming in south China.The deal was supposed to have been signed end of last year for work tobegin this year, but to date nothing has been inked between thecontractors and the Government.However, Ircon officials based here have said that preliminary civil workshave started and the project is on track.Double-tracking refers to the construction of a new track parallel to theexisting one to enable uninterrupted two-way train traffic.