Berita Arkib

1/7/2004 Bangkok Post - Strategic plans to develop the palm oil industryhave been drafted to increase the plantation area by at least 400,000 raia year over the next 25 years.

7/6/2004 BUSINESSWORLD (PHILIPPINES) - The government's push to developthe local palm oil sector should not be seen as a threat to the coconutindustry, an agriculture expert said.

NEW DELHI, July 1 (Bernama) -- India would keep the interest of its oilindustry and oilseeds farmers in mind when signing the Free TradeAgreement with Thailand.

-- Palmis: Malaysia June Palm Oil Exports At 925,000 MT - Trade-- Palmis: Malaysia End-June Palm Oil Stocks At 1.2M MT - Trade

July 3 2004 - RUSSIA has started to enter the palm oil market in aslightly bigger way than usual following the activation of an exportcredit facility for the commodity.

Sao Paulo, July 5 (OsterDowJones) - Soybean exporters from Brazil, theU.S. and Argentina are demanding their respective governments pressureChina to stop arbitrarily restricting imports of their world-leadingoutput.Six groups representing soybean exporters sent joint letters to U.S.President George Bush, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and BrazilianPresident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asking them to force China intochanging its policy of restricting trade by canceling contracts, banningindividual companies and imposing arbitrary and onerous trade rules, thusbreaking World Trade Organization agreements.Brazilian exporters are spearheading the initiative after Chinatemporarily banned local soybean imports from 23 companies in May and Juneafter finding extremely low levels of fungicide in a number of shipments.The ban has been lifted but exporters lost a lot of business and are stillawaiting payment on shipments sent."Unfortunately, these aren't the first cases in which they have triedto administrate the flux of trade through non-tariff barriers, which isprohibited by the World trade Organization," read the letter, seen byOsterDowJones.Both U.S. and Argentine exporters have previously been affected byChina's lack of transparency as the Asian giant routinely delays andcancels issuing of import permits.China is the world's main importer of soybeans. The U.S. Department ofAgriculture forecasts imports will reach 24 million tons in the year fromSept. 1.The letter specifically demanded that governments pressure China torescind new sanitary import rules, introduced July 1, which are much morestringent than international standards.It went to ask that the government obtain assurances that China willcease to use administrative restrictions to limit trade. If it shouldcontinue to do so, the government should consider lodging a complaint atthe World Trade Organization, it added.The letter was sent by Brazil's National Cereal Exporters Associationand the Brazilian Vegetable Oil Processors Association, by Argentina's OilIndustry Chamber and the Cereal Exporters Center, and the North AmericanExport Grain Association and the National Oilseed Processors Association.

7/1/2004 THE STAR (MALAYSIA) - Malaysian Palm Oil Association has askedthe palm oil refiners in Malaysia to consolidate their businesses toovercome the threat of intense competition from major palm oil importingcountries. Malaysia, which has 47 palm oil refiners, needs to consolidateits palm oil business to build a solid group both in terms of volume andfinancial standing.

Buenos Aires, June 28 (OsterDowJones) - Argentina and China havesigned a memorandum of understanding on biotechnology and biosecurity,Argentina's Agriculture Secretariat said Monday.The signing of the memorandum, which took place at the beginning of avisit by Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to China, means Argentinawill work closer with China on agricultural trade and relatedbiotechnology issues."Through this accord, we will look to strengthen the exchange ofinformation between the two countries and, fundamentally, to facilitatethe trade of biotech products," Miguel Campos, Argentina's AgricultureSecretary, said in a statement Monday.China is a major importer of Argentine agricultural goods, especiallysoybeans and soy-based products. Last year, China bought at least $2.2billion worth of agricultural goods, according to Secretariat data."China has become our top trade partner, accounting for 14% of totalArgentine exports," Campos said. "We are very interested in maintainingcooperation with China in different areas, such as biotechnology, bovinegenetics, no-till farming and forestry."As the world's No. 2 user of genetically modified crops, or GMOs,Argentina is also interested in ensuring that China has no problemimporting such goods.To ensure cooperation on this front, Campos said Argentina and Chinawill create a "working group" comprised of technical officials from bothcountries. The aim of the group will be to "facilitate the cross-bordermovement of genetically modified organisms."Roughly 98% of Argentina's soybean crop is genetically modified,according to official data. Moreover, 40% of the country's corn crop ismodified and 20% of its cotton products are derived from GMOs. In total,23% of Argentina's planted crop area is dedicated to farming GMOs.Given that China buys about two-thirds of local soybean exports, thecreation of this new working group is "strategically important" forArgentina."Surely exports to China of new biotechnology products will increase,"the Secretariat said in a statement.Meanwhile, Argentina has also pledged to help China develop its ownbiotechnology program. By 2005, China will have invested $1.2 billionboosting its own biotech program, according to Secretariat data.Cooperation is a big part of Argentina's negotiating strategy withChina. "Cooperation first; then commerce," Campos is fond of saying."From the Secretariat that I run, we will do everything necessary sothat neither geographic distance nor cultural differences become anobstacle to the development of our commercial relationship," Campos said.On Tuesday, Campos will meet with officials from China's animal andvegetable health authority, or AQSIQ, to discuss protocols related to suchimports as citrus and beef, among other goods.Later, Campos will meet with Kirchner to inaugurate a permanentArgentine agricultural attache office in Beijing. Campos knows theposition well, as he was Argentina's agricultural attache in Brazil priorto becoming Agriculture Secretary last year.

30/6/0/4 - The apex body has urged the Indian Government to fix a minimumvalue addition norm of 45 per cent to create a level playing field for theindigenous sector.

30/6/04 - SAWIT Kinabalu Bhd will spend some RM500 million in 10 years todevelop a 50,000ha oil palm plantation under a proposed joint-ventureproject with Yayasan Sabah.

Chicago, June 29 (OsterDowJones) - The U.S. Department of AgricultureTuesday announced that it will donate 6,000 metric tons of refinedsunflower seed oil to International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc.(IOCC), a private voluntary organization, for use in Bosnia andHerzegovina.IOCC will sell 6,000 tons of refined sunflower seed oil in Bosnia andHerzegovina and use the proceeds to provide technical assistance, directloans, improve farm efficiency and competitiveness, and to assist in theformation of agricultural associations.The donation will be made under USDA's Food for Progress program,administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service. The supply period forthis donation is fiscal year 2004.The Food for Progress program provides for USDA donations ofagricultural commodities to needy countries to encourage economic oragricultural reforms that foster free enterprise. This year, USDA expectsto donate almost 600,000 tons of U.S. commodities under Food for Progressusing both CCC funds and transfers from P.L. 480 Title I.

30/6/04 - THE Indian Government has given a further three-month reprievefor utilisation of the zero-duty one-lakh-tonne (lt) annual vanaspatiimport quota from Nepal for 2003-04.