Berita Arkib

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- ePOMEX Palm Oil (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, asubsidiary of HeiTech Padu Bhd, Tuesday announced that the Malaysianelectronic exchange for physical delivery of oil palm products which begantrading in late 2001, has now installed 16 Seat Holders.

COLOMBO, Feb 16 - Sri Lanka is replacing some of its traditional rubberplantations with oil palm in a controversial move that first drewcriticism from the rubber industry and is now drawing the ire ofenvironmentalists.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Crude palm oil (CPO) production forJanuary stood at 934,812 tonnes, down by 1.46 percent compared with948,704 tonnes in December last year, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said ina statement Thursday.

Saturday, February 16, 2002 (The Star) - EXPORTS of local palm kernelexpeller cake (PKC) will likely witness renewed demand this year fromtraditional markets such as Europe, South Korea and Japan as well as newones such as China and India, according to major PKC exporter and shipperPalm Base Sdn Bhd.Palm Base managing director Daniel Cheow said PKC – an oil palm fruitby-product – held strong export prospects based on its performance lastyear, when Malaysia successfully exported almost its entire PKC productionof about 1.8 million tonnes.PKC, which is a main ingredient for nutritional animal feed production,particularly in cattle and hog feed, is currently traded at US$70 pertonne (CIF basis) compared with US$40 per tonne in the first quarter oflast year – the lowest historical level to-date. At its peak in mid-1996,the PKC price reached a high of US$200 per tonne.Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of PKC, followed closely byIndonesia.Palm Base is believed to be the only Asian PKC exporter and shipper, andcurrently competes with two other European companies to export PKC underCIF (cost, insurance and freight) basis.The company exports some 300,000 tonnes of PKC annually on a CIF basis,and these are shipped directly to major international ports such asAmsterdam and Rotterdam as well as smaller ports such as Sanpander andBilbao in Spain.At the same time, there are about 20 major local PKC manufacturers whichsell their products under FOB (free on board) to both local andinternational traders and exporters.Cheow expressed confidence that PKC, which is being traded at a US$20 toUS$25 discount to its substitutes such as corn gluton, sugar bit pulp andcitrus pulp from the US and South America, could in the near future fetchbetter prices.“I believe this can be achieved if more efforts were put in by local PKCmanufacturers to improve the quality of their products,’’ he said.There had been cases of adulteration in PKC, such as manufacturers addingpalm fruit shells and increasing moisture content to increase its weight,he claimed.He also stressed the importance of diversifying the export markets for PKCto enhance its pricing. Currently, more than 90% of Malaysia’s PKC exportsgo to Europe.Cheow said there had been too much emphasis on exports to Europe and therecent mad cow and foot and mouth diseases could dampen purchase of PKCthere. He added that China and India could be good alternatives.Meanwhile, Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council, which has been focusingon the export and promotion of palm oil, is believed to have recentlystarted promoting PKC.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- About 50,000 Nepalese workers areengaged in four sectors in Malaysia since the Malaysian government gaveits nod for their intake in January last year.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's 2001/02 soybeancrop is developing well in the main soy-producing regions of the country,but the lack of farm chemicals after last month's public debt default hasleft crops exposed to weeds and pests, the Argentine AgricultureDepartment said Tuesday.Soy plantings were virtually complete with 99.7 percent of the areaforecast to be planted with the oilseed has been sown by Feb 8. "InPergamino (in northwestern Buenos Aires province) where 700,000 hectaresof soy have been planted, the general state of the crop is excellent. Manyinsects are appearing but the biggest problem is the lack of products totreat the crop," the government said in its weekly harvest report.Most fertilizers, pesticides and other farm chemicals are imported intoArgentina, so January's default and subsequent bank restrictions onpayments abroad held up delivery of those goods to the domestic market.The same problem occurred in Cordoba, the main soy producing provincein the current season which accounts for 3.36 million hectares of thetotal national soybean area of 11.3 million hectares. "There are few farmchemicals available and large distributors aren'tselling," the Agriculture Department said.While there are no official soybean production estimates for the 2001/2002crop, local analysts forecast output to reach 30 million tonnes. The U.SDepartment of Agriculture forecast Argentina's soybean production at 28.75million tonnes. Corn plantings were 99.8 percent complete and the crop wasin good condition. Cordoba lead plantings with 754,500 hectares sown.Buenos Aires province was next at 650,500 hectares -- far from the priorcrop year when1.03 million hectares were sown. The smaller planted area in Buenos Aireswas the result of heavy rains late in 2001.USDA forecast Argentina's corn output at 11.5 million tonnes The sunflowerharvest was 14 percent complete out of 2.02 million hectares sown,compared to 1.97 million hectares in the prior crop year. In Buenos Airesprovince, which boasts about 1.06 million hectares, the crop saw lightshowers throughout a windy week. Cotton plantings were 99 percent completeas of the end of the reporting period.Argentina's 2001/02 wheat harvest finished Jan 25 and is widely expectedto yield a 15.7 million tonne crop. Harvesting began on early crops sownin the north, an area that accounts for a small proportion of nationalproduction.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- China's long awaited announcement on itsnew palm oil import quota is expected to improve the current price of thecommodity worldwide.

SEPANG, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Peat fires, reportedly caused by open burninglast Friday, are threatening to destroy three oil palm plantations nearthe KL International Airport (KLIA) here Tuesday.

JAKARTA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's second largest palm oilproducer, plans to lobby major buyer India next week to lower its heftyimport duty on crude palm oil (CPO), an Indonesian minister said onWednesday.Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi said she will visit India, theworld's largest edible oils importer, on February 19-23 to hold talks withher Indian counterparts and ask them to lower the duties on CPO and itsrefined products by at least 10 percent."Indonesia's CPO is not competitive in India because the import duty ismuch higher than that on soyoil," Soewandi told reporters."So I will ask India to lower their import duty by at least 10 percent,"she said, adding it was impossible to ask India to make the duties on CPOand its refined products on par with those on soyoil.CPO and partially processed crude palm olein carry a tariff of 65 percentin India while its main competition, crude degummed soyoil, is only taxed45 percent.Fully processed palm oil, such as refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD)palm olein, is assessed a duty of 92.4 percent compared with 50.8 percenton refined soyoil.Indonesian traders said some 30 percent of Indonesia's palm oil exports inthe past two years went to India.Indonesia produced more than 8 million tonnes of palm oil in 2001, ofwhich more than 60 percent was exported.

Thursday, February 14, 2002 (The Star) - MALAYSIA is disappointed thatChina failed to honour its promise to announce its import quota for palmoil by last month.Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said China hadcommitted to purchase 2.4 million tonnes of palm oil from theinternational market, compared with 1.4 million tonnes last year,following its entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).Malaysia provides about 70% of China’s palm oil requirements.However, he said, the market had waited “week after week” since thebeginning of January for China to announce its import quota, but it wasnot forthcoming.“This has had a dampening effect on the palm oil market. (The Chinese)have to give the quota but they did not, and this is causing worries inthe market,’’ he said.He also said, as this was the Chinese New Year holiday in China, Februarymay pass before the Chinese Government decides on the quota.Lim also said although China was now a member of the WTO, it still did notpractice the free market system.It was imposing restrictions, including controlling the import of palm oilwith the quota.“If they do announce the quota, I hope it is not with conditions,’’ hetold reporters at Parti Gerakan’s Chinese New Year open house at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.Apart from the import quota, he said, another barrier to palm oilexporters was getting China to provide foreign exchange for its importers,who were mostly state enterprises.“They may give the quota to the state enterprises but if they do notprovide foreign exchange – China has US$145bil in foreign reserves – wewill have another barrier,’’ he said, adding that he may have to go on aworking visit to China soon to sort out the problem.Lim said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Azizwould write to China’s Minister of Foreign Economic Trade Relationshipwhile he (Lim) would write to China’s Minister of Economic PlanningCommission to ask the Chinese Government to announce the quota.He also said that apart from China, India (as the other top two consumersof palm oil) was also causing a dampening effect on the price of palm oilin the commodity exchange.The price of palm oil should be at RM1,250 per tonne by the end of thisyear but the current price was already down to RM1,050 per tonne, Limsaid.This, he said, was also due to India’s “discriminating import tariff.”Although India had reduced import tariff on crude palm oil from 70% to65%, it was still discriminatory compared with the 45% tariff on soya oil,he said.The difference between import tariffs for processed palm oil and palmolein and soya oil was even greater – 98% (including value added tax) forthe former compared with 50% for the latter, Lim said.“I have written to the Indian government hoping for it to review the taxat the end of February when the government reveals its tax structure,’’Lim said.He also said the Indian government could continue to raise the tariff toprotect its farmers.However, Malaysia wanted India to narrow the difference in the tariffstructure between palm oil and soya oil.Palm oil and soya oil are the two main oils imported by India.“We also suggested some mechanism to put the tariff on palm oil and soyaoil at the same level,’’ Lim said.According to Lim, the unfair distribution, tariff imposition, andimplementation of the quota system by China and India had caused adisruption in the international palm oil market.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Trades Union Congress(MTUC) today lauded the MIC President's proposal that monthly wages beinstituted for estate labourers.

LUMUT, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Port operator, Lumut Maritime Terminal Sdn Bhd,(LMT) expects its five year old port in Lumut, Perak to see throughputgrowing at 20 percent a year over the next five years, its chief executiveoffice Harun Halim Rasip said.