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8/30/2002 (Financial Times) - Analysts are no longer sure if soya futureswill match the record levels of late 1980s, with China expected to startharvesting a record soyabean crop in September and Indian soya productionbenefiting from regular rains since the beginning of this month.Still, the US Department of Agriculture forecasts that a fall in worldoilseed production will keep the prices of all seeds and oils high. USoilseed production is going to take a hit of 5.8m tonnes to 82m tonnes dueto unrelenting drought in many growing centres. Dry weather will alsoaffect rapeseed production in Canada and Australia, according to USDA.The Soyabean Processors' Association of India says the country's monsoonsoya production will be more than 5m tonnes against 5.5m tonnes in2001-2002. Earlier, it was feared that the 2002-2003 crop could be as lowas 4.5m tonnes.The land under soyabean, the country's second largest oilseed aftergroundnut, is down nearly 700,000 tonnes to 5.3m tonnes. But high pricesthroughout 2002-2003 could see a transfer of land from other crops to thisoilseed, according to traders.Unlike with soyabeans the Indian monsoon groundnut crop is principallygrown in the drought-prone western state of Gujarat, so officials thinkthe monsoon crop could be less than 2m tonnes, compared with 2.7m tonneslast year.Anticipating a domestic shortfall, the country's oil extraction industryhas called on the government to cut the import duty on oilseeds andliberalise its quarantine rules. China and Japan follow this practice.In the meantime, according to the Chinese National Grain & OilsInformation Centre, China's soyabean production in 2002-2003 will be arecord 17m tonnes, up 1.6m tonnes on last year.

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department's ForeignAgricultural Service released the following report on Malaysia's cropconditions.Malaysia: Lower Rainfall and Lower Than Expected Area Reduce Palm OilProspectsMalaysian monthly average rainfall was 161 millimeters, 39 millimetersbelow normal in the second quarter of 2002, and so has now been belownormal for 4 out of the last 5 quarters. The less than normal rainfall islikely to negatively impact palm oil yields for the 2002/03 marketingyear.Yield Projected Lower for 2002/03Using the Malaysia rainfall data, yield for 2002/03 (Oct.Sept.) isforecast by the Malaysia Rainfall Regression Model (MRRM) at 3.69 tons perhectare. This is slightly below the 5-year average of 3.76 tons perhectare, and well below the 4.06 tons per hectare seen in 2000/01. TheMRRM model is projecting a yield of 4.01 tons per hectare for 2001/02.This projection is likely too high because the excessively high rainfallof 363 mm in the fourth quarter of 2001 may have reduced pollinationlevels and will reduce yield in the third quarter of 2002 below what themodel is projecting.Mature Palm Oil Area Less Than ExpectedThe Malaysian Palm Oil Board came out with an estimate of mature palm oilarea in 2001 of 3.01 million hectares, 310,000 hectares lower than hadbeen expected. As a result, mature area in 2001 increased just 63,000hectares from 2000, less than the 128,000 hectares average increase overthe previous 5 years. A large part of the reason why area increasedslowly was the replanting program that was implemented by the Malaysiangovernment. The program, which began in July 2001 and finished at the endof June 2002, was instituted to encourage producers to replace stands oftrees that were more than 25 years old. According to the MalaysianMinister of Primary Industries, 198,000 hectares of trees were cut underthe replanting program, which offered farmers MR1000 (US$263) for eachhectare of land that was cut.Production Outlook WeakUsing estimated area of 3.07 million hectares and the MRRM yieldprojection of 3.69 tons per hectare implies output of 11.3 million tons ofcrude palm oil for the 2002/03 marketing year. The MRRM projection issomewhat lower than the official USDA forecast for 2002/03, which is at11.8 million tons. The MRRM implied output for 2001/02, using areaestimated at 3.01 million hectares, is 12.0 million tons, higher than theofficial USDA estimate of 11.7 million tons.

AMSTERDAM, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Anglo-Dutch consumer products group UnileverNV/Plc said on Friday it would sell its edible oils unit Loders CroklaanGroup to Malaysia's IOI Corporation Berhad for 217 million euros cash.It said the sale was part of its sweeping reorganisation plan to cut itsbrand portfolio to 400 from 1,600 and to boost sales growth to 5.8 percentand margins to 16-17 percent by 2004.Negotiations were advanced enough to start procedures with the tradeunions, Unilever said in a statement.Loders Croklaan, which had sales of 267 million euros last year, has twomain plants in the Netherlands and the United States with smaller ones inEgypt and Canada.It has traditionally supplied the confectionary and baking industries, andalso produces nutritional oils and other ingredients.It will continue to supply Unilever -- whose product portfolio includesLipton teas, Dove soap and Skippy peanut butter -- with specialtyproducts."We are certain that Loders Croklaan's new parent company can furtherdevelop the business by adding strength in raw materials and regionalpresence in Asia," Unilever Foods Director Patrick Cescau said in thestatement.Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of palm oil.IOI Corporation is one of the biggest listed companies in Malaysia, withinterests in plantations, refining, oleochemicals and propertydevelopment, the statement noted.Unilever shares in Amsterdam closed on Thursday at 58.70 euros and inLondon at 579 pence.

WASHINGTON, August 26, 2002 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’sForeign Agricultural Service has launched a new Web site that provideseasy-to-read crop condition information for most agricultural regions inthe world.Read This Release:http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/PressRelease/pressrel_dout.asp?PrNum=0243-02

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The United States signed a deal in Islamabadon Friday to donate 37,800 tonnes of soybean oil, valued at $16 million,to Pakistan's poverty alleviation programme.The agreement was signed by U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell andPakistan's Economic Affairs Secretary Waqar Masood, the U.S. embassy saidin a statement.The United States will pay shipping costs to the southern port city ofKarachi and Pakistan will be allowed to sell the oil and use the money foragricultural development, the embassy said."The donation will help reduce pressure on the government of Pakistan'slimited foreign exchange resources and provide additional resources toimplement Pakistan's long-term poverty reduction and rural developmentprogrammes," the statement said.Last week, the United States signed a deal in Islamabad for theconsolidation and restructuring of $3 billion in debt owed by Pakistan, akey ally in its war against terror.Last November, the United States released $600 million in aid to Pakistan,which was followed by a $1.3 billion IMF poverty reduction programme andan agreement by the Paris Club of donors to restructure $12.5 billion ofdebt. The $3 billion of U.S. debt to be restructured is included in thislatter figure.USAID this month put in place a $100 million five-year programme to helpreform Pakistan's educational system and Washington is also providing lawenforcement assistance.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 26, 2002 (Xinhua News Agency via COMTEX) --Representatives from the World Bank Monday urged the developed countriesto cut their subsidies in agriculture, saying the subsidy element is a"major deterrent" to the development of all nations, especially thedeveloping world.Ian Johnson, World Bank vice president for sustainable development, madethe remarks while outlining the World Bank's agenda of priorities for theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which kicked off Mondaymorning.Each year, 350 billion US dollars of taxpayer's money in the North areused as subsidies for agriculture, "preventing the South from meeting itsown obligations of agriculture," he told reporters at a WSSD newsbriefing."The subsidy element is certainly a barrier," Johnson said.Market access and agriculture subsidy are among the most controversialissues to be discussed at the Johannesburg summit, and some have urged theWorld Bank to play a more active role.Although the World Bank didn't act as strongly against subsidies as itshould have done, Johnson said that there have already been some changes."We have set up a trade department at the bank", he said, adding "We aretrying to really understand the impact of the 350 billion US dollarssubsides."

30 August, 2002 (Business Times) - BAKUN hydroelectric dam civil works’consortium leader Sime Darby Bhd may seek the support of four sistercompanies from Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) in supplying palm oil as partpayment to the Chinese partner in the project.

23 August, 2002 (Business Times) - THE Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)has formalised a committee to assist the Government during tradenegotiations at World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) levels.

IPOH, Aug 24 (NSTP): Anti-palm oil activists have turned to usingalleged despoiling of the environment to discourage the consumption of thecommodity. Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik saidthese groups claimed that consumption of palm oil based products woulddestroy the forests in the developing world.

KUALA LUMPUR Saturday, August 24, 2002( The Star) - The Government ismulling over the possibility of consolidating all Felda land schemes sothat they can be managed professionally as an estate to overcome theproblems of Felda lands being left idle.A study to determine the feasibility of such plan is being carried out bythe Land and Co-operative Development Ministry.The plan is one of several measures being studied to discouragesecond-generation Felda settlers from selling their land.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said many of the currentgeneration of Felda settlers were not interested in working their land,especially those who were highly educated.“Many children of Felda settlers are highly educated. We can’t expect themto come back and tap rubber or work on their land. We have to think ofways to address this problem otherwise, the land would be left idle orwould be sold off.“Soon, most of Felda land schemes will face this problem. Some settlersallowed foreign workers to work on their land and this will create otherproblems,” he told reporters after opening a special gathering of thesecond generation of Felda settlers at the International IslamicUniversity near here.The land, he said, could yield better returns if it was managed by aprofessional team rather than as individual smallholdings and the higherprofit could be distributed to the settlers.Dr Mahathir said details of the plan, including whether the settlers wouldbe made shareholders of the company that would manage their lands, haveyet to be finalised.There are about 120,000 Felda settlers with a combined land holdingtotalling 447,246ha, of which 324,265ha was planted with palm oil whilethe rest with rubber.Earlier, when addressing the over 4,000 Felda settlers and their children,the Prime Minister advised them against selling their lands for quickprofit.“I understand that having worked so hard, some of you would like to savourthe fruits of your labour by selling your land. The thing is, land is anasset that will remain in your family for generations to come but moneywill disappear very fast, especially if you don’t know how to manage it.“I also know that there are some settlers who bought unnecessary luxurythings including Mercedes Benz cars after selling their land and this is ashame because if they are not careful, there will not be anything left forthe succeeding generation,” he added.Dr Mahathir later launched the Felda Generation Vision Fund for theeducation, training and welfare of the Felda community.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23: The Government may set up a company to take overthe 304 Felda settlements in the country, expressing fear that lack ofinterest among the younger generation may result in the land being leftidle, the Prime Minister said today.

PASIR MAS, Aug 23 (NSTP) - Many plantation companies, especially those inoil palm cultivation, are still reluctant to go into cattle rearing toboost the country’s food production, Agriculture Minister Datuk EffendiNorwawi said.