Berita Arkib

CHANGLOON, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Felda will give special focus oncommercialising its products such as palm oil and products made from it inforeign countries, especially on the African continent.

09/09/04 - In Brazil & Argentina several major oilseed and grain growingareas are still very dry. Early plantings could not be carried out.Farmers wait for the arrival of the much needed rainfall but forecasts donot provide much hope forthis to occur until Sept 18.In Brazil hardly any rain was noted in the first half of this week in MatoGrosso as well as in neighbouring states. Mato Grosso is the biggestsoybean producing state in Brazil, but early plantings, normally scheduledfor the first half of September, cannot be carried out. It is still veryearly in the season, but the very dry conditions during the last 6-8 weeksare of great concern. Mato Grosso accounted for 24% of total Braziliansoybean plantings last year. It may be difficult this year to accomplishthe intended boost in soybean plantings by 0.6 Mn ha in that state.Dryness is also of concern in most other Brazilian soybean growingregions.In Argentina the northern half of the country is still very dry. Someisolated beneficial rain arrived in parts of SantaFe and Entre Rios on Sept 7 and 8, but moisture large deficits stillpersist.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- The government on Friday proposed anincentive package which includes tax deduction and pioneer status toencourage the commercialisation of resource-based research and development(R&D) findings by public research institutes.

9/10/2004 BUSINESSWORLD (PHILIPPINES) - TACLOBAN CITY - The PhilippineCoconut Authority (PCA) needs around P1.2 billion a year to rehabilitate490,000 hectares of coconut farms throughout the country and contain thecadang-cadang disease. PCA Administration Danilo Coronacion said hisagency still hopes to get part of the dividend earnings from a 27% stakein San Miguel Corp. believed to have been acquired using funds from acoconut levy collected under the Marcos government. "We all realize thatthe government is now in tight financial status that is why we are lookingat accessing whatever funds are available from the coconut levy," he said.

10/09/04 CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Dow Jones)--U.S. soybean futures areexpected to open with good gains Friday after the government cut 2004-05production more than expected.However, a record-large U.S. corn crop and as-expected wheat numbersshould keep those markets on the defensive at the start, analysts said ata Chicago Board of Trade press briefing following the U.S. Department ofAgriculture's release of its September crop production and supply anddemand reports."It looks like there's going to be plenty of everything," John Welsh,senior vice president at Peregrine Financial Group, said of the recordcorn and near-record soybean crops."Upside (price) potential will probably be limited, and demoralizationof the participants in the market as the grain complex has declined thisyear may at some point in the near future reach a level of outrightdisgust that would cause the market to rally," he added. "I'm not surewe're there yet."For example, the nearly ideal growing conditions of large crops havepressured Nov beans from a high of $7.89 in May to a low of $5.52 inAugust. Dec corn has plummeted from $3.22 1/4 in May all the way to $2.25in September.Meanwhile, the USDA raised U.S. 2004-05 corn production to 10.961billion bushels with an average yield of 149.4 bushels an acre in theSeptember report, from 10.923 billion bushels and a 148.9 bu/ac yield inthe August data and markedly higher than last year's 10.114 billion-bushelcrop.Corn ending stocks rose by 77 million bushels to a total of 1.209billion bushels, compared to the August estimate of 1.132 billion.The USDA lowered 2004-05 soybean production to 2.836 billion bushelswith an average yield of 38.5 bushels an acre, compared to 2.877 billionand 39.1 bu/ac in the August report.The soybean crush was lowered by 10 million bushels to 1.615 billion,and exports were lowered 30 million bushels to 1.000 billion. Soybeanending stocks were unchanged at 190 million bushels.On wheat, the USDA left 2004-05 all-wheat production unchanged at2.123 billion bushels with an average yield of 42 bushels an acre. Endingstocks were also unchanged at 578 million bushels, while exports were leftat 950 million bushels, the USDA said.After their sharp declines, prices may now begin to find "demandsupport levels," Welsh said, adding that usage and feed demand haveincreased over the same time frame."I still have the suspicion, as everyone does, that the upsidepotential is somewhat limited this year. But if South America doesn'tproduce as much as they did last year, we may get a kick from that.Soybean demand has been wonderful and growing continually but so hasproduction - not only in the United States but all around the world,"Welsh said, highlighting the markets' dilemma this year.The longer term technical picture in corn and soybeans, as well as theglobal increase in demand, may theoretically stabilize prices near currentlevels, he noted.

10/09/04 WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Department of Agriculture onFriday lowered its forecasts for 2004-05 soybean production and yield,again going against analysts' expectations for stronger predictions. USDAattributed the decrease mainly to lower-than-expected yield prospects inthe upper Midwest.USDA, in its monthly crop report, predicted U.S. soybean productionwill reach just 2.84 billion bushels. That's a drop from the August andJuly forecasts of 2.88 billion and 2.94 billion, respectively. Despite theforecast declines, USDA said in the report that 2004-05 production isstill expected to be "the second highest production on record."The projected average soybean yield was set at 38.5 bushels per acre,a 0.6-bushel drop from the August forecast, USDA said in the Septembercrop report."Below-normal temperatures and adequate moisture across most of theCorn Belt, the Great Plains and the Delta in August favored the soybeancrop during critical stages of development," USDA said in the crop report."However, yield prospects declined in the northern tier of states due tocool weather. A brief period of freezing temperatures slowed thedevelopment of a crop already behind in maturity in North Dakota andMinnesota."

09/09/04 SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Asian Soy rust is present in 80% ofBrazilian soybean-producing areas and could prompt losses of more thanfive million metric tons in the 2004-05 harvest, specialists fromBrazil's Agricultural Confederation CNA said Thursday.Soy rust is likely to prompt losses equivalent to or higher than2003-04 losses, which reached 4.5 million tons of soy, equivalent to 9%of the 49.8 million-ton harvest, according to Alecio Marostica, anexecutive from CNA.CNA estimates that soy rust cost Brazilian producers $2.2 billion inthe 2003-04 harvest.Brazil's 2004-05 soy harvest could reach 66 million tons, dependingon climatic condition, Marostica added.The CNA expects the soy-rust epidemic to be worse in Mato Grosso,Brazil's largest soy-producing state.Climatic conditions were responsible for the increased disseminationof soy rust in Brazil's center-west, which received above-averagerainfall this year, helping to propagate soy rust, according togovernment soy researcher Jose Tadashi Yorinori.Producers have asked the government to speed up approval of newagrochemicals that can be used to combat soy rust. According to CNAestimates, about five new fungicides are waiting approval by governmentagencies.The government estimates that producers will need 26 million litersof agrochemicals, up from 16 million liters in the 2003-04 harvestseason.Soy rust prompted a decline in productivity in Brazil to 2.4 tons perhectare in 2003-04 from 2.8 tons per hectare in 2002-03.Soy rust was first detected in Brazil in 2001. It could spread intothe U.S. in the next two to three years, according to Cristiano Simon,president of Brazil's National Association of Agricultural Protection.

9/9/04 INDIA (Oilmandi) - Imports of edible oil during the first tenmonths of the marketing year (MY) 2003 (October-September) are estimatedat 3.04 million tonne, 28 per cent less than the quantity imported duringthe corresponding period of MY 2002.

Thursday September 9, 2004 - PLAYERS in the agriculture sector areanticipating good incentives in Budget 2005 such as less tax, better linksbetween productivity and wages, and strong emphasis on the training ofagricultural workers to take the industry to greater heights.

NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- India's edible oil imports during August2004 increased to 401,000 tonnes, up from 292,000 tonnes in the previousmonth, buoyed by the demand for the coming festival season. Importsduring September and October were placed at 900,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes,taking the total oil imports during the oil year (November '03 to October'04) to 4,200,000-4,300,000 tonnes as against 5,110,000 tonnes in theprevious oil year, according to the financial daily, the Hindu BusinessLine.According to preliminary import data from the industry portalOilmandi.com, quoted by the paper, the composition of arrivals duringAugust this year was as follows: 171,000 tonnes of de-gummed soya oil;158,000 tonnes of crude palm oil; 33,300 tonnes of refined palmolein; and31,500 tonnes of crude sunflower oil. The rest included 4,000 tonnes ofcrude palmolein and 2,000 tonnes of crude palm kernel oil. There was asubstantial increase in soyabean oil arrivals following a downward pricecorrection in international market. Crude olein imports were downconsiderably last month, while sun oil imports picked up because offestival demand, the report said. Imports of edible oil during the firstten months of the current oil year were estimated at 3.1 million tonnes,compared with 4.25 million tonnes during the corresponding period of theprevious oil year. -- BERNAMA

08/09/04 - The law would apply to maize and oilseed rape, the only twobiotech crops authorized in Europe. Batches of conventional seeds with GMOmaterial below a threshold level wouldn't have to be labeled.

Thursday September 9, 2004 - KOTA KINABALU: The business community withinthe Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area(BIMP-EAGA) has been reminded that innovation and creativity are needed tofully exploit opportunities available within the grouping.