Berita Arkib

BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China is gaining increasing clout as a large buyer ofgrains and oilseeds in the international market, but the scarcity ofreliable statistics on its domestic market is making it difficult forgrowers, traders and consumers to make correct decisions on market trends.A recently concluded grains conference in Beijing was a case in point.Those participants who were lucky to glean any numbers were told thedata were "tentative", "discussional", or worse still, "not for publicdistribution.""From my perspective, it would seem more appropriate for the rest ofthe world to rely on China for information it can provide, than be subjectto market speculation and balance sheets prepared by foreign analysts,"said Gerald A. Bange, chairman of the World Agricultural Outlook Board atthe U.S. Department of Agriculture, who was in Beijing last weekend toattend the gathering.In 2003, China's State Grain Administration applied to the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission for permission to regularly report onstockpiles.That approval is yet to be given, an official at the grain agency toldDow Jones Newswires.According to a researcher working for an investment company inShanghai, most analysts now take USDA estimates on China's production andstocks as benchmarks."It would be good if the (Chinese) government could report figures(such as) grain stocks regularly, (so) we can compare them with USDAestimates and our own research," the researcher told Dow Jones Newswires.When contacted, an official at the International CooperationDepartment at the Ministry of Agriculture said grain output estimates havebeen previously published.Relying on outside information to gauge China's domestic situation canalso prove tricky sometimes."In a way, volatile price movements in the past few months reflectedsome irrational judgments made due to insufficient information," said ananalyst with an agriculture consulting company in Beijing.

MEDAN, N. Sumatra, July 21 Asia Pulse - PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk(JSX:UNVR) plans to expand its business and invest US$500 million indevelopment of its food, beverage and cosmetics industries in Indonesiaover the next 10 years, a spokesman said.

7/20/2004 (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER) PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - Despiteenvironmental concerns from non-government organizations, Palawan willpush through with its plan to make palm oil production a major industry inthe province.

7/20/2004 - Sarah Booth and colleagues from Tufts University, Boston, US,have discovered that high dose vitamin E supplements can antagonise theeffects of vitamin K, resulting in an anticoagulant effect typical of lowvitamin K status.

NEW DELHI, July 19 Asia Pulse - Even with excellent monsoons and bumpercrops, there will be a 27 per cent shortfall in oilseed output against anestimated demand of 40.23 million tonnes by 2006-07, the government saidtoday.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Indonesia's palm oil exports in June totaled590,116 metric tons, down 10% from the 657,628 tons exported in May,traders said Tuesday, citing estimates from cargo surveyor PT Sucofindo.Traders familiar with Sucofindo figures said vegetable oil exports in Junetotaled 668,699 tons compared with 764,382 tons in May.

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Julai (Bernama) -- Agensi-agensi kerajaan dari Indonesiadan Malaysia, yang mengawal selia industri minyak sawit, sedang membuatpersiapan untuk menubuhkan lembaga pemasaran bersama yang boleh membantumenstabilkan harga minyak sawit.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Malaysia's palm oil exports for July 1-20totaled 704,061 metric tons, up 11.9% from the 629,233 tons exported inthe first 20 days of June, cargo surveyor SGS (Malaysia) Bhd. saidTuesday.The figure is higher than another estimate earlier Tuesday from IntertekTesting Services but within market expectations.Intertek estimated July 1-20 exports at 683,903 tons.The following are the details of the major items in the SGS estimate.

17/04/04 - China’s current soybean imports have dropped greatly, with thearrivals in July down from May and June. The actual arrivals have declinedfrom June. Some domestic large crushers are still worrying about thefuture soybean supply and some crushers are considering adjusting theoperation rate in an effort to keep the normal production when the soybeansupply is insufficient. If the current situations continue, the importedsoybean stocks will be used up soon.

17/07/04 - The domestic edible oil prices have been stable recently, withthe demand up from June, but the domestic rapeseed oil and palm oil priceshave been low. The current domestic edible oil prices have been low,greatly affected by the palm oil and rapeseed oil prices. The rapeseed oilex-factory prices have remained stable recently in South China, with thegrade 2 rapeseed oil ex-factory price at 5,900 Yuan per ton, lowex-factory price at 5,700-5,800 Yuan per ton and high ex-factory priceapproaching 6,000 Yuan per ton.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is unhappy with the outcome ofthe latest draft on the modalities on liberalisation of agriculture underthe World Trade Organisation (WTO) agenda.

7/19/2004 VANGUARD (NIGERIA) AAGM - SINCE 2002, Presco Plc, has embarkedupon massive expansions of its plantations and processing facilities. Inthis piece, the company's Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Pierre Vandebeeck,says its production base has doubled, and the company is now wellpositioned to meet the needs of food manufacturing industry which dependson oil palm products for their operation.