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Palm oil dips as India import tax concerns counter weak supply outlook
Palm oil production to exceed 19mil mt next year, says analyst
India's palm oil imports plunge as buyers shift to soyoil
Global vegetable oil production continues to grow
Malaysian landowners sue Unilever over sale of Pam
KUALA LUMPUR -(Dow Jones)- A group of landowners from east Malaysia'sSabah state are suing Unilever PLC (U.ULV) for a share of the proceedsfrom the sale of its wholly-owned Pamol Group to Malaysian oleochemicalscompany Palmco Holdings Bhd. (P.PAL).The 180.3-million-ringgit ($1=MYR3.80) claim is based on a joint ventureagreement between the landowners and Pamol which the landowners say wouldhave resulted in them owning 30% of Pamol had the venture been finalized.But the suit, filed Dec. 4 in the Johor Bahru Civil High Court after thelandowners said attempts to reach a settlement with Unilever and Pamolfailed, is unlikely to derail Pamol's sale to Palmco."What my clients want is compensation" and not to stop the sale, OswaldMojingol, a lawyer and spokesman for the 2,382 landowners, told Dow JonesNewswires.Pamol declined comment on the case, referring queries to its Unileverparent.A Unilever spokesman said: "This is an extremely complex issue. We areunable to make any comment at this juncture. The whole matter is governedby Malaysian law and we'll be seeking local legal advice on theappropriate next steps."Palmco officials couldn't be reached for comment.Unilever on Dec. 2 signed an agreement to sell its wholly-owned PamolGroup - which comprises 23,045 hectares of oil palm plantations and twopalm-oil mills - to Palmco for MYR567 million.The landowners who filed the claim are from tribes indigenous to Sabah,and are represented as plaintiffs in the suit by six businessmen.According to claim documents reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires, thelandowners were first invited to participate in a joint venture with Pamolaround 1995."Had it (the joint venture) materialized, what would have happened is thatmy clients would have had the 30% (of Pamol)," Mojingol said.Unilever and Pamol declared on June 30, 1999, that the joint-ventureagreement "had lapsed" because certain conditions were not met by April 9,1999, according to the claim documents.One of the terms of the agreement required the landowners to secure atleast 20,000 acres of good-quality land for the joint venture within sixmonths from Jan. 17, 1997. The deadline was later extended to April 9,1999.The landowners didn't meet that second deadline.But in their claim, they allege subsequent events and correspondence withUnilever and Pamol officials indicated the deadline had been extendedfurther.In their claim, the landowners are seeking an injunction to restrainUnilever from disposing of the proceeds of the Pamol sale up to the sum ofMYR180.3 million.That sum comprises MYR43.5 million in special damages for costs incurredin the land acquisition exercise and in professional fees and generaldamages of MYR136.9 million.
Gains and Losses from WTO Entry Counted
China to buy 2.5m tons of Malaysian palm oil in 20
01/03/2003 (NSTP) - CHINA yesterday announced the 2003 import quota for atotal of 26.3 million tonnes of grains and other agricultural productsincluding wheat, rice and palm oil.The Government said China will import a total of 2.5 million tonnes ofpalm oil in 2003.China, along with India, Pakistan and the European Union, is one of thebiggest buyers of Malaysian palm oil.Malaysia is the world's largest palm oil producer, accounting for a totalof 11.8 million tonnes of palm oil in 2001.For the first 10 months of last year, China bought a total of 1.4 milliontonnes of Malaysian palm oil and it is expected to reach 1.8 milliontonnes for the full year.Yesterday, the January crude palm oil futures price on the Malaysian PalmOil Board closed at RM1,670 a tonne.
Record Argentine harvest predicted for 2002/03
1/6/2003 (Country Report Argentina) - Contrasting performances areexpected between cereals and oilseeds in the 2002/03 (June-May) harvest.According to official estimates, the area sown with cereals will contractby 12.5%. Over half of the fall will be explained by the area sown withwheat, a by-product of the critical conditions prevailing at the turn ofthe year, including financial constraints, input shortages anduncertainty. Oilseed production, by contrast, has benefited from thenormalisation of the input market and producers' self-financing fromstocks accumulated in the previous campaign. According to officialestimates, the area sown with sunflower is estimated to increase by 20%,while that sown with soybeans will rise by 6%. The US Department ofAgriculture estimates that Argentina will reach a new record output of32.5m tonnes.
NREB Undertakes Pilot Study On Pollution From Used
SIBU, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- Sarawak's Natural Resource and EnvironmentalBoard (NREB) will undertake a pilot study on environmental pollutioncaused by used cooking oil.State Environment and Public Health Minister Datuk William Mawan said thata grant of RM500,000 had been allocated for the purpose.
Felda Restructure To Bring More Income To Settlers
JELI, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- The Felda management will be revamped next yearto enhance the federal agency's role in increasing the incomes of the103,000 settlers in the country.Felda chairman Tan Sri Dr Yusuf Nor said Tuesday that the revamp wouldinvolve 275 land schemes to ensure a higher standard of living for thesettlers, especially when the market price of palm oil, which most of themcultivate, falls.
RM100m disbursed to smallholders
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23: The RM100 million fund pledged by the FederalGovernment to help rubber and oil palm smallholders nationwide to improvetheir income was fully disbursed in 2001 and 2002.Agriculture Minister Datuk Effendi Norwawi handed out RM2.49 million inaid to 350 smallholders in Kuala Langat, Selangor, today, signifying thefull disbursement of the fund."This shows that the Government has fulfilled its promise to thesmallholders," he said.A total of 15,000 smallholders nationwide benefited from the fund,allocated through the ministry, which was announced by Deputy PrimeMinister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March last year.The smallholders today were part of the 709 rubber and oil palmsmallholders in the State who received RM5 million aid.Effendi urged the smallholders to use their aid wisely, utilising moderntechniques to sustain their crops and their income.The fund was pledged by the Federal Government to aid smallholders aftermarket prices of commodities such as palm oil, rubber and coconut fell totheir lowest level.Several assistance schemes were also introduced by the Government asshort- and long-term measures to increase the smallholders' incomes.The Agriculture Ministry will be seeking an allocation of RM70 millionfrom the Federal Government for the same purpose next year for another10,000 smallholders nationwide.
Side effects of soya products
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E-Oil Imports By India To Cross Five Million Tonne
NEW DELHI, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Imports of edible oil by India is expectedto surge to an all-time-high of five million tonnes, going by imports inNovember, the first month of the current oil year and lower Rabi (winterseason) produce of oilseeds."Imports may cross five million tonnes, surpassing the earlier high of4.83 million tonnes in 2000-01, if 21 percent growth in November 2002, thebeginning of the new season is any indication," a leading importer hasbeen quoted in a Mumbai-datelined report in the financial daily theEconomic Times as saying.