Archived News

THERE are two events that are going to add to shareholders' stock selection interest. Firstly, it is the runaway crude palm oil (CPO) prices. Secondly, it is the imminent reopening of Malaysia's borders on April 1.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures climbed on Wednesday to end a four-session losing streak, as upbeat exports in the first half of March and a recovery in broader markets supported prices.

New Delhi: At a time when the prices of edible oils are on the rise, the consumers would have to cough up more to procure cooking oils for their daily needs as the government has made it clear that there is no plan to offer any subsidy on the essential item. In a written reply to a question asked by Trinamool Congress MP Sajda Ahmed, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told Lok Sabha that the government has no proposal to offer subsidy on edible oils. It means consumers would have to buy edible oils at exorbitant prices. However, the minister maintained that the government monitors the retail and wholesale prices of 22 essential food commodities, including edible oils submitted by the 179 price monitoring centres that have been set up with Central assistance by state governments and UT Administrations across the country.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rebounded from Tuesday’s losses to end higher on Wednesday (March 16), driven by positive development on the global commodities market.

JAKARTA – Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi’s concerted efforts over the past three months to keep the retail price ceiling of cooking oil to between Rp 11,500 (80 US cents) and Rp 14,000 per kilogram have been ineffective.

JAKARTA: Indonesia will remove retail price caps for packaged cooking oil and will subsidise bulk sales to try to ensure supply at retail markets after previous price controls resulted in a scarcity, senior officials said on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures dropped as much as 5.7% on Tuesday, extending losses to a fourth session, hampered by weaker crude prices and as surging COVID-19 cases in key buyer China raised worries about demand.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday, extending losses to a fourth session, as surging COVID-19 cases in key buyer China raised worries about demand amid expectations of higher domestic production.

Argentina's government announced on Monday it had suspended exports of soybean flour and oil amidst rumors it is planning to hike taxes due to soaring primary material costs blamed on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. One expert told AFP the export freeze was likely a measure to prevent firms registering future exports before the tax rise comes into effect.

Grain prices ended the day better than they started last night. Wheat futures led the way higher as futures were noticeably higher by the close. CBOT and KC wheat ended the day up 58¢ while Minneapolis spring wheat settled up 42¢. Old-crop corn futures settled up nearly a dime in May and up a nickel in July. New crop corn ended the day down one penny. May soybean futures were able to recover most of the early session losses to end the day down 12¢. New-crop soybeans were slightly weaker with a close down 14¢.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi’s concerted efforts over the past three months to keep the retail price ceiling of cooking oil to between Rp 11,500 (80 US cents) and Rp 14,000 per kilogram have been ineffective. He even took the bull by the horns in late January by legally requiring crude palm oil (CPO) and olein producers to sell 20 percent of their export volume to domestic cooking oil factories at the domestic price obligation, which is only half the figure of international prices. He further strengthened the policy last week by increasing the domestic market obligation (DMO) to 30 percent. But the price of cooking oil remains high in many cities. The problem is not a lack of supply, as Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil with an output of over 55 million tons last year. The latest data shows that the country even exported 16 million tons of cooking oil last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is looking into alternatives, including setting two prices for cooking oil, one for domestic and another tag for export.