Berita Arkib

12/08/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - Government on Wednesday said there was no moveto cut import duties on edible oils and asserted that the prices of allessential food items were by and large stable in the country.

12/08/04- MIKE ZUZOLO, analyst with Risk Management Commodities Inc.,Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday's U.S. Department of Agriculture grain andoilseed reports:"The soybean market was surprised by the USDA's crop projection belowthe range of estimates and with the 2004-05 carryout cut below 200 millionbushels, the unwinding of spreads is likely until will get to theSeptember crop report.

12/08/04, KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Asian cash palm oil prices weremixed Thursday, with products in Malaysia unchanged to slightly higheramid slow trading as supply and demand figures for July failed to inspireinterest.Activity in the Malaysian market has been sluggish for most of theweek amid uncertainty over price direction.The government-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board issued official Julysupply and demand figures midday.The MPOB said Malaysia's palm oil exports in July rose 25.4% on monthto 1.11 million tons. It said July palm oil output rose 8.5% on month to1.27 million tons while end-July stocks rose 6.6% on month to 1.29 milliontons.Traders said the MPOB report had little impact on the market.Although exports rose sharply in July, the upbeat demand figures wereoffset by stronger-than-expected growth in production.As a result, end-July stocks as reported by the MPOB were largelywithin expectations, traders said.Wednesday, traders said private surveyor Palmis Management Bhd. hadestimated end-July stocks at 1.315 million tons, only slightly higher thanMPOB.Traders said participants were still unsure about the outlook for palmoil prices and largely stayed on the sidelines.Market players are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture'smonthly soybean crop report, due later Thursday and expected to bebearish.They are also watching developments in India amid talk that thegovernment may cut import duties on edible oils.India's Business Standard quoted unnamed sources as saying India'sfinance ministry is likely to reduce import duties on nine commodities,including edible oils, to stem inflation.There has also been rumors of a potential reduction in base prices forpalm oil imports. The government calculates import duties for palm oilproducts according to a set of predetermined base prices, regardless ofactual market prices.Meanwhile, traders said palm oil prices may struggle to move higher inthe near term if, as expected, the USDA's soybean crop report is bearish.They said renewed selling interest from a large trading company, whichexports mainly to the Middle East, may also keep the market underpressure."They are selling October/November/December palm olein at $402.50 (ametric ton), which is $5 cheaper than what other sellers are offering," atrader said.Aggressive selling pressure from the trading company has, in the past,led to a drop in prices, though often short lived, traders said.In the cash market, CPO for August shipment was offered at 1,490ringgit ($1=MYR3.8) a metric ton, unchanged from Wednesday, deliveredbasis in South Malaysia.RBD palm olein for August shipment was offered at $425/ton, up $2.5from Wednesday.RBD palm oil for August shipment was at $415/ton, also up $2.5.In Indonesia, the government sold 4,500 tons of CPO at a semiweeklyauction Thursday, said an official from PT Perkebunan Nusantara, theagency that sells palm oil from state-run plantations.The official said the auction price was up 15 rupiah ($1=IDR9,228) akilogram from the previous auction.PT Nubika Jaya bought 1,000 tons, ex-factory, at IDR3,656/kg.PT Musim Mas bought 1,000 tons, ex-factory, at IDR3,624/kg.PT Permata Hijau Sawit bought 2,000 tons, free on board Belawan, and500 tons, FOB Dumai, at IDR3,717/kg.Although higher than the previous auction, Thursday's prices were downIDR13 from Wednesday.RBD palm olein in Jakarta was offered at IDR4,300/kg, up IDR25 fromWednesday.

12/08/04, CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Dow Jones)--U.S. soybean futures areexpected to open with strong gains Thursday after the governmentsurprisingly cut both 2004-05 production and ending-stock estimates morethan expected, analysts said at a Chicago Board of Trade press briefingfollowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's release of its August cropproduction and supply and demand reports.In addition, Vic Cook, managing director of Global Weather Services inOverland Park, Kan., said by telephone that with the abnormally cooltemperatures currently in the Midwest, there is a "higher-than-normalchance for an earlier-than-normal frost" this crop season.The U.S. soybean data was definitely the surprise for the market, acrop analyst said during the CBOT teleconference.The USDA pegged 2004-05 soybean production at 2.877 billion bushels,down from 2.940 billion in the previous report and below tradeexpectations of around 2.97 billion.U.S. soybean ending stocks fell 20 million bushels to a tight 190million bushels. Soybean exports for 2004-05 were trimmed 20 millionbushels to 1.030 billion bushels."The biggest surprise today (Thursday) is the soybean yield comingdown from the prior report. The market was expecting something obviouslyhigher. So with that, and especially in light of yesterday's (Wednesday's)new lows on fund selling, we'll probably get a positive response," saidRichard Feltes, director of research at Refco.However, the USDA raising global stocks of soybeans, corn and wheat inThursday's supply and demand report may temper the bullish enthusiasm insoybeans, he added."Globally we're swimming against the tide on the grains...and withmore soybean stocks at the end of the marketing year," Feltes said.Seasonally, action in the soybean market favors the bulls at thistime of the year as prices have generally risen on the August USDA cropnumbers, Feltes said. "Longer term, the March contract has been up betweenthe 18th of August and the 4th of September in 15 out of the last 16years. November beans have been up nine of the last 15 years in the weekfollowing the August crop report," he said.However, with global demand "withering," it may be difficult to keepsoybean futures headed higher in the long run, Feltes added.China will continue to hold the key for U.S. grain and oilseedexports, Feltes said, as the world learns more about its internal marketsand food needs. However, Beijing's grains stocks are still a state secret,"and we as analysts here in the United States still don't know what theyhave on hand," he said.On soybeans, Cook said he was surprised by the USDA trimming theaverage U.S. yield to 39.1 bushels an acre."Our Global Weather Service crop model expected them to be a littlehigher than that. I, for one, think that we might see some increase inthat number between now and the September values," Cook said.While temperatures in some areas of the Midwest are 15 to 20 degreeslower than normal for this time of year, a warming trend is expected andtemperatures should be close to normal by the middle of next week, hesaid.Temperatures may still be cooler than normal after that, "but notabnormally cool like we have been the last few days," Cook said.Comparing statistical data from the last 50 years, Cook said his GWSstaff found that the majority of the 10 coolest summers were followed bycooler-than-normal autumns."If we carry that trend on, there is a probability that we'll see acooler-than-normal autumn this year and it may translate this year intothe chance for an earlier-than-normal frost. There are no real goodnumbers yet on when that frost might be and whether or not it'll be earlyenough to do any damage, but that's the way the statistics look rightnow," Cook said.Chances for an earlier-than-normal frost in the upper Midwest are near65% to 70%, he estimated.

12/08/04, NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--India Finance Ministry is likely to cutimport duties on nine commodities to stem a rise in inflation, theBusiness Standard reports, quoting unnamed sources.

MANILA, Aug 11 (Bernama-DPA) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) saidWednesday it has approved a 500,000-dollar technical assistance grant tostudy the potential for using waste from Indonesia's palm oil mills as asource of commercially viable renewable energy.The grant, co-financed by the Canadian Government Fund, wouldestablish a waste management framework for Indonesia's palm oil industryand study options available for energy recovery and conversion.The Manila-based ADB noted that Indonesia is the world's secondlargest producer of palm oil, after Malaysia, with about 300 palm oilmills operating in the country.These mills produce more than four billion tons of palm oil annuallyand generate one billion dollars in export earnings.However, the industry also gives rise to significant amount of biomasswaste and wastewater which pollute the groundwater and soil and releasemethane gas."Solid and liquid biomass waste is a renewable source of energy thatcould potentially be transformed into electricity, gas, bio-diesel andfertilizer to serve remote rural areas and reduce dependence on fossilfuel," said ADB project economist Sujata Gupta.Gupta noted that one palm oil mill that processes 60 tons of freshfruit bunches per hour could produce 11,400 cubic metres of methane perday from wastewater, and provide more than 1.5 megawatts of electricity."But the mills lack the expertise and access to the information aboutthese processes as well as the appropriate technologies," Gupta said.ADB said the Indonesian government would contribute 125,000 dollarsfor the project, which would be executed by the Directorate General ofElectricity and Energy Utilization. The study would be carried out untilAugust 2005.

11/08/04, NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--India's federal government lateTuesday increased the intervention price of summer-sown crops, such asrice and oilseeds, according to local news agency Press trust of India.India's federal government announces the intervention price of thesummer-sown crop in August, while the intervention price of thewinter-sown crop is announced in January.The intervention price of rice has been increased by 100 rupees($1=INR46.36) a metric ton to INR5,600/ton from INR5,500/ton in 2003.The intervention price of yellow soybeans has been increased byINR700/ton to INR10,000/ton, while black soybean intervention prices havebeen increased INR600/ton to INR9,000/ton.India's federal government intervenes in the open market to buy riceand oilseeds if open market prices fall below the intervention price.Generally, the government only procures rice from the market, sinceoilseed prices are generally higher than the state-set interventionprices.India's summer-sown crop is sown in June and July and harvested inSeptember.

11/08/04, KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Asian cash palm oil prices weremixed Wednesday, with the Malaysian market hovering between unchanged tomarginally higher amid slow trading as participants were mostly on thesidelines ahead of key supply and demand figures.Products in Malaysia were steady, tracking slight gains in the futuresmarket.At 0829 GMT, the benchmark October CPO futures contract on the BursaMalaysia Derivatives was at 1,422 ringgit ($1=MYR3.8) a metric ton, upMYR5 from Tuesday.CPO futures were lifted by some short covering on the nearby Augustcontract ahead of the contract's expiry Friday.Slightly higher soyoil futures in electronic trading also providedsome support, traders said.Traders said participants were cautious, awaiting official monthlycrop reports on palm oil and soybeans. The government-run Malaysian PalmOil Board is scheduled to issue midday Thursday official July supply anddemand figures for palm oil.Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to issuesupply and demand data for soybeans."The market hasn't changed much at all. There was nothing new in the(Palmis) figures. People are just waiting now for MPOB," a trader said.In a prelude to the MPOB's report, private surveyor Palmis ManagementBhd. issued midday its own estimates for July.Palmis pegged Malaysia's CPO production in July at 1.230 million tons,up from the 1.17 million tons produced in June, traders said.According to traders who obtained the data, Palmis estimated July palmoil exports at 1.055 million tons, up from 886,376 tons in June.Palmis estimated end-July stocks at 1.315 million tons, up from 1.21million tons at end-June.Traders said the figures had little impact on prices as there were nomajor changes from a report issued a week ago.In the near term, palm oil prices are likely to remain steady on thehopes of strong exports in August.Tuesday, Cargo surveyors SGS (Malaysia) Bhd. and Intertek TestingServices issued estimates showing disappointing growth in palm oil exportsin the first 10 days of August.However, market players weren't concerned."Many (people) believe that second-half shipments are going to begood," a trader said.Meanwhile, there was talk of a possible reduction in import duties inIndia. The Indian government is likely to cut import duties on crude oil,petroleum products, steel and agricultural commodities such as sugar andedible oils, India's Economic Times reported, quoting sources.The move is believed to be part of measures the government is liningup to curb inflation. The report didn't provide further details.Traders said a cut in edible oil import duties, if true, would pavethe way for India to buy more palm oil in the coming months.In the cash market, CPO for August shipment was offered at 1,500ringgit ($1=MYR3.8) a metric ton, up MYR10 from Tuesday, delivered basisin South Malaysia.RBD palm olein for August shipment was offered at $425.00/ton, up $2.5from Tuesday. Other months were unchanged.RBD palm oil for August shipment was at $415.00/ton, up $2.5. Othermonths were unchanged.In Indonesia, RBD palm olein in Jakarta was offered at 4,275 rupiah($1=IDR9,230), down IDR25 from Tuesday.CPO in Medan was offered at IDR3,730/kg. Tuesday, the government sold2,500 tons of CPO at a semiweekly auction at prices of as high asIDR3,702/kg.

11/08/04, KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Private surveyor Palmis ManagementBhd. Wednesday estimated Malaysia's July crude palm oil output around1.230 million metric tons, up from the 1.17 million tons produced in June,said traders familiar with the latest Palmis report.According to traders who obtained the data, Palmis estimated July palmoil exports at 1.055 million tons, up from 886,376 tons in June.Palmis pegged end-July stocks at 1.315 million tons, up from 1.21million tons at end-June.Palmis is the only private palm oil crop forecaster in Malaysia, andits production, export and stock forecasts are closely watched by themarket.Traders said the figures aren't expected to have any significantimpact on palm oil prices, as there were no major changes from a previousreport issued a week ago.At 0705 GMT, the benchmark October CPO contract was at 1,424 ringgit($1=MYR3.8) a ton, up MYR7 from Tuesday.CPO futures were slightly higher amid short covering on the nearbycontract ahead of its expiry.The spot August contract ceases trading midday Friday.Slightly higher soyoil futures in electronic trading also lifted palmoil prices, traders said.However, trading interest was largely sluggish Wednesday asparticipants wait for official July supply and demand data.The figures are scheduled to be released midday Thursday by theMalaysian Palm Oil Board.Also due Thursday is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly cropreport on soybeans.

8/11/04, INDIA (Oilmandi) - GOING by current indications, howeverincipient, history made in 2003 could repeat itself this year in the US,world's largest producer of soyabean; and if it does, the internationalvegetable oil market may witness another frenzied price behaviour withspeculators having a field day at the cost of those with genuineunderlying exposure.

8/10/04, INDIA (Oilmandi) - Don’t blame the monsoons for more expensiveedible oils. Every consumer is paying an extra Rs 3-Rs 7 a kg extra forcooking oils only because the government has asked Customs to levy importduty on a price that is more than $100 per tonne higher than what isactually paid by the importer.

10/08/04, KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)-- Asian cash palm oil prices weremostly flat Tuesday, with products in Malaysia little changed in slowtrading despite slightly disappointing export figures.Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and SGS (Malaysia) Bhd.issued estimates Tuesday showing Malaysian palm oil exports totaledaround 317,000 tons in the first 10 days of August, up slightly fromabout 300,000 tons in the July 1-10 period.Traders said the figures were considered a disappointment because themarket had been expecting strong growth.However, despite the uninspiring figures, declines in palm oil priceswere limited because many market players had already reacted in advanceMonday.Palm oil prices fell late Monday amid rumors that exports would bearound 320,000 tons and not as high as 400,000 tons as initially expected.Traders said there was also optimism that export growth could pick uppace in the remaining days of the month."The SGS figure showed zero exports to India, which is surprisingbecause they had booked quite a lot of freight space for August. So wewill definitely see a much better number for the second half of themonth," a trader said.India had been buying actively in the Malaysian and Indonesianmarkets last month following concerns about a potential drop in thecountry's domestic oilseeds production because of weather problems.Besides Indian interest, demand from China also improved late lastmonth.So far in August, however, both countries have been less aggressive."When our prices went up, the interest slowed down again. They arestill buying a little bit and that is helping to support our market. Butthe interest is still not as much as what we saw (this time) last year,"a tradersaid.Demand from China and India is typically strong in the third quarteras both countries stock up for major festivals later in the year.Meanwhile, market players largely ignored reports that El Nino weatherconditions have developed and could affect palm oil production in thecoming months.An Australian government weather forecast has indicated that El Ninohas returned and will affect rainfall in Southeast Asia in the next threemonths.Traders said it is still too early to determine the impact, if any, ofEl Nino on palm oil production.In the cash market, CPO for August shipment was offered at 1,480ringgit ($1=MYR3.8) a metric ton, unchanged from Monday, delivered basisin South Malaysia.RBD palm olein for August shipment was offered at $422.50/ton,unchanged from Monday.RBD palm oil for August shipment was at $412.50/ton, down $2.5.In Indonesia, the government sold 2,500 tons of CPO at a semiweeklygovernment auction Tuesday, said an official from PT Perkebunan Nusantara,the agency that sells palm oil from state-run plantations.The official said the auction price was up 8 rupiah ($1=IDR9,185) akilogram from the previous auction.PT Nubika Jaya bought 1,000 tons, ex-factory, at IDR3,641/kg.PT Astra Agro Lestari bought 1,000 tons, free on board Belawan, atIDR3,702/kg.PT Darmex Oil and Fat bought 500 tons, FOB Dumai, at the same price.RBD palm olein in Jakarta was offered at IDR4,300/kg, unchanged fromMonday.Meanwhile, traders said Indonesia palm oil exports in July totaled603,276 tons, up 2.2% from 590,116 tons in June.Traders familiar with estimates from cargo surveyor PT Sucofindo saidvegetable oil exports in July totaled 691,691 tons compared with 668,699tons in June.