Berita Arkib

THE Government is pulling the plug on the project to use crude palm oil(CPO) as fuel for power generation following the sharp improvement in thecommodity's prices of late.

ISLAMABAD - The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda)has proposed to the ministry of industries and production that 15 percentadditional duty should be imposed on imported edible oil to protect thelocal growers involved in the production of edible oil, Smeda sourcesinformed Business Recorder here on Thursday.Sources said, though, prices of edible oils has increased by 70 percent inthe international market during recent months, necessary measures wererequired to protect the local industry from this onslaught.They further said, local production of edible oil has already shrunk from$ 322 million in 1998-1999 to $ 142 million in 2000-2001, and the trendindicates that the government was not encouraging the local industry bytaking required steps.Sources said, Pakistan Oilseeds Development Board (PODB) failed domesticpolicies have forced Smeda to approach the federal government foradditional steps to save the local industry which was badly needed, sothat the country could produce edible oil in such a quantity to meet thenational requirements.Although, the import of palm oil and soyabean oil have decreased by 50percent and 12 percent respectively during the previous year, however,Pakistan has spent about $ 325 million on the import of edible oil fromdifferent markets, sources added.When the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) sources was contacted to know theduties on edible oil, they disclosed that duty on edible oil is the secondhighest after cars.On the other hand, Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) isdemanding reduction in custom duty on edible oil, as prices of thecommodity were already skyrocketing in the international market. Likewise,prices of ghee and edible oil in the local market were being increasedevery day.Sources said, in a recent meeting, the PVMA has asked the ministry ofindustries and production to reduce duty on tin plate, so that the pricesof ghee and cooking oil could be brought under control.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- If you want to know what's buzzing inthe palm oil industry, perhaps the 2001 International Palm Oil Congress(2001 PIPOC) to be held here Aug 20 to 23 is the best place to be at.

13 August 2001(Business Times) - PALM oil companies, committed to supplycrude palm oil (CPO) for the government-initiated CPO burning project, areasking for a review of the purchasing price.

10 August 2001(Business Times) - THE project to use crude palm oil (CPO)as fuel for power generation plants must go on to maintain positive marketsentiment and provide valuable data to researchers on the viability of themove.

Friday, August 10, 2001 (The Star)- JOHORE Tenggara Oil Palm Bhd (JTOP) ison the lookout for more plantation land as it seeks to expand its oil palmplantation business.According to JTOP managing director Datuk Shahabudin Shafie, despite thesomewhat low price of crude palm oil (CPO) in the international market,the company is confident of the future prospect of the commodity."We have a lot of faith in palm oil and it remains our business focus. Infact, things are looking up for us as now the CPO price has risen toRM1,300 per tonne," Shahabudin told reporters after the company's EGM inKuala Lumpur yesterday.He said that as part of JTOP's expansion plan, it had acquired 21,000acres of plantation land in Gua Musang, Kelantan, of which 3,000 had beenplanted with oil palm.The purchase costing RM49mil was funded by proceeds totalling RM104milfrom the disposal of its 25% share in Gugusan Induk Sdn Bhd, awholly-owned unit of JTOP.A further RM30mil will be used to repay bank borrowings and the rest foroperational costs.JTOP has a landbank of 75,000 acres, mostly in Kota Tinggi and Kluang inJohor.The EGM had earlier approved a proposal for the disposal by Gugusan IndukSdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JTOP, of its 25% equity interest inNice Frontier Sdn Bhd, comprising 2.5 million RM1 shares for RM104.425milcash.

7/8/2001(The Star) - THE palm oil industry is confident that the crudepalm oil (CPO) price will stay between RM1,200-RM1,300 per tonne,according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk DrYusof Basiron.The CPO market, which has been in the doldrums for such a long time, hadenjoyed a bullish cycle in the past few weeks.According to Yusof, now the CPO price is close to RM1,300 per tonnecompared to what it was in the past at RM670 per tonne.He said the low price in CPO previously was due to the oversupply of oiland fats globally."The industry is confident that the price will sustain or even improvebecause many countries are cutting back on production, thereby reducingsupply and going on replanting like Malaysia," Yusof told reporters duringan interview in Kajang yesterday.He said that the present price was still very cheap for countries whichdid not produce palm oil but needed it.Asked whether the price would go much higher than RM1,300, Yusof said thathe doubted it but believed that the price was likely to firm up aroundthat level.--Bernama

8/8/2001(NSTP) - DEWAN RAKYAT - AN Energy Commissioner has beenestablished to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of the monitoringsystem on the energy sector.

Lahore,Pakistan,8/9/2001(Business Recorder) - Favourable weatherconditions is going to boost the production of local oilseed by 20 percent this year, said the Chairman, Pakistan Vanaspati ManufacturersAssociation (PVMA), Mian Muhammad Ibrahim. In a statement issued hereTuesday, he stated that this bright out look of Pakistan's winter oilseedcrop could sharply reduce the burden on our foreign exchange resources andimports are expected to come down by 25 percent.Spotlighting the recent weather pattern of the country, he averred thatlast year Pakistan suffered due to severe drought, but this year plenty ofmoisture in the soil and sufficient water in dams are the potent reasonsfor this optimism. Moreover, he said that 100,000 tonnes of soyabean oilin US aid has also started arriving in Pakistan.Continuing, he observed that all the positive indications requireconsistency in our edible oil policy, which is not available at present.He pointed out that if we want that the present trend of increase in localoilseed should continue, we must discourage the import of oilseed to turntables in favour of farmers of the local oilseed who need protectionagainst the cheap import of oilseed. The government must revise itspresent policy of low import tariff on foreign oilseed, he added.He hoped that there will be bumper crop of Canola and cottonseed oil thisyear and added that when the prices of Palm oil and Soyabean are going up,our farmers stand a good chance of getting economic prices from thecrushers. He appealed to the government that these favourable conditionsmust not be eroded for any consideration.

Karachi, Pakistan, 8/9/2001(Business Recorder) - The Trading Corporationof Pakistan (TCP) has so far received 25,000 tonnes of soya oil from theUnited States and is expecting two more vessels of 12,500 tons each withinthis month. The soya oil is being shipped under the US Aid that is thecompensation for F-16 payment, the final consignment of 25,000 tonnes isexpected to arrive in September.The timing of soya oil arrival is very favourable for the Government ofPakistan as according to market sources, the international market is verystrong and the price of oil has gone up by about 150 dollars more pertonne.Therefore, the import of edible oil at present is very costly. Since theimport duty has been exempted on the arrival of this oil, the TCP isexpected to generate a sizeable amount of money from these shipments.According to the sources of the Pakistan Vanaspati ManufacturersAssociation (PVMA), since the TCP has been exempted from custom duty andother taxes they are demanding that TCP should market soya oil at lowerrates which will help reduce the local price of ghee and cooking oil.The first auction of TCP is due on Aug. 16. However, the market sourcesbelieve that since soya oil is slow item. The TCP will be required tofloat several auctions to complete their sales.Ghee makers believe that the TCP should sell total quantity of soya oilbefore the commencement of manufacture of local cottonseed oil as thecotton crop is expected to be good. Local cottonseed oil is a goodreplacement for soya oil.

Tuesday, August 7, 2001(The Star) - Malaysian companies have been asked tolook into the possibility of exporting the country's expertise in managingoil palm plantations and palm oil refining instead of just the commodity.According to Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC) chief executiveofficer Datuk Haron Siraj, Malaysia is leading the world in the palm oilbusiness and has the technical expertise to help other countries set uptheir palm oil operations."Although many Malaysian companies are reluctant to invest or buy oil palmland overseas because of issues relating to land tenure and security, wefeel this should not prevent them from exporting their management andtechnical skills," he said.Haron told reporters this during a programme on palm oil trade awarenessorganised by the MPOPC for 25 businessmen from east Europe and Africa inPetaling Jaya yesterday.Haron said that cultural and language barriers also posed challenges toMalaysian companies wanting to set up palm oil plantations abroad.Haron said that in addition to providing technical skills, Malaysiancompanies could export the equipment used in the oil palm plantation andrefining business."The MPOPC will continue to encourage palm oil consumption amongestablished markets and promote the edible oil in new markets in northAfrica and west Asia," he said. "Bangladesh and Vietnam had increasedtheir import of our crude palm oil in the 1st half of this year comparedwith the corresponding period last year.

Friday, August 10, 2001(The Star) - PALM oil futures prices were slightlytrimmed by profit-taking yesterday after hitting the RM1,300 level earlierin the week, but analysts believe the market tone is still positive.They are of the view that prices of palm oil futures would stabilisearound the RM1,200 level."Given the nature of supply and demand, prices should stabilise at theRM1,200 level," said the head of research of a stockbroking company.Said the chief executive of a big oil palm company: "At RM1,000 a tonne, Iwould regard it as beh pai'(not bad) and at RM1,300 it's 'chin chia ho'(very good). My profit margin has doubled in the past two months."The production cost per tonne of palm oil in Malaysia averages betweenRM650 and RM700.Palm oil futures shot up to the RM1,300 level after influential forecasterIvan Wong revised down his estimates for production and stocks for themonth of July.His orginal estimates, made on July 23, were for a production of 925,000to 930,000 tonnes and stocks of between 940,000 and 950,000 tonnes.Wong slashed his forecast for July to 885,000 tonnes for production and915,000 tonnes for stocks.Palm oil futures prices have risen subtantially in just a few months amidconcerns over what effects the dry weather during the first half of theyear would have on the second half of 2001.With production trending downwards and stocks coming down, analysts saidprices should be firm over the next six months.They said the share prices of plantation companies, which rallied alongwith the initial spurt in crude palm oil (CPO) prices, had not joined inthe subsequent rise in palm oil futures."Prices are taking a breather after the sharp run. People want to be sureCPO prices can be sustained," said a plantations analyst with a localstockbroking firm.The analyst also said plantation companies had not been aggressivelyselling forward. Instead, they were balancing their sales between theforward and spot markets, an indication that they expected prices to risefurther.