Berita Arkib

SHANGHAI, March 8 (Reuters) - China's State Development PlanningCommission (SDPC) is likely to announce the list of qualified applicantsfor this year's farm import quotas by the end of March, an official saidon Friday.The commission said in early February it would announce successfulapplicants for tariff-rate-quotas (TRQs) -- imports under lower tariffs --for agricultural products including wheat, corn, rice, edible oils, cottonand sugar by March 5."We should be able to release it by then," the official told Reuterswhen asked if the SDPC would announce the successful importers ofagricultural products this month.She said there were too many applications this year and the SDPC neededmore time to process them.China's top state-owned grain trading firm, COFCO, also told Reutersthat it had not received any notification on the quotas.The TRQs were announced only in February before the week-long Lunar NewYear holidays, giving little time for buyers to apply and authorities todecide on the successful applicants, traders say.The SDPC said it would announce the following year's quotas inSeptember, but this year was an exception as China only became a formalWTO member on December 11.

The countries of the EU-15 are likely to raise their imports of oils andfats by 0.4-0.5 Mn T from a year ago in Oct/Sept 2001/02. This will bringthe total close to a record 5.7 Mn T, compared to 5.2 Mn T one and 4.9 MnT two years earlier (this refers only to imports from third countries andignores trade within the EU). The EU-15 is thereby emerging as the regionwith the steepest increase in import requirements and the largest importdemand in absolute terms, considering that India, the second-biggestimporter, will manage to reduce its imports significantly this season. Thereasons for rapidly rising imports and a likely stagnation of EU oilexports are the highly insufficient production growth on the one hand anda total disappearance that is forecast to grow by 0.3-0.4 Mn T this seasonon the other, probably closer towards the upper end of the range. Thetables on SU 21-61 illustrate the development of crushings of the threemajor oilseeds as well as of oil and meal production until December.Combined production of soya, sun and rape oils declined by 80 Thd T from ayear before in Oct/Dec 2001, but this was more than offset by a boost inpalm oil imports of approximately 160 Thd T in the same period. A recoveryof domestic production is expected in coming months in view of stillrelatively large rapeseed supplies. Given that current expectations of ahigher EU rapeseed production in 2002 materialize this will allow afurther increase in rape oil output, especially from July onward.On the demand side, special factors such as the partial ban on animal fatsin feed manufacturing have contributed to the substantial boost in demandfor palm oil in recent months and will keep import demand at a high levelalso in 2002. The demand for rape oil in biodiesel production has sufferedlately due to its deteriorating competitiveness against mineral oils. Weexpect this to contribute to a significant slowdown of the growth in totalrape oil disappearance this season. Still, biodiesel production widenedthe demand base for vegetable oils decisively in the last two years andthus contributes also to this season’s substantial increase in importrequirements.

KATHMANDU, March 6 (Reuters) - India has put a limit on duty free importsof some commodities, including hydrogenated vegetable oil, from Nepalunder a renewed bilateral trade treaty, officials said on Wednesday.Under the pact, signed between officials of the two countries at theweekend, imports of hydrogenated vegetable oil exceeding 100,000 tonneswill attract tariff, they said.Earlier, India allowed all Nepali products except alcohol, cosmeticsand tobacco, unlimited duty-free access under a treaty signed in 1996.India will annually allow from Nepal 10,000 tonnes of acrylic yarn,7,500 tonnes of copper wire and 2,500 tonnes of zinc oxide duty-free intoits market."The export of these goods to India in the excess of prescribed amountwould be subject to normal Indian customs duties as applied to othercountries," Nepal's Commerce Secretary, Bhanu Prasad Acharya, toldReuters.Indian industry has been protesting against duty free imports,especially of hydrogenated vegetable oil or vanaspati, which it says ishurting the interests of domestic industry.India, the world's largest vegetable oil importer, left customs dutieson edible oils unchanged in its federal budget last week but imposed afour-percent special additional duty on imports of vanaspati from NepalNepal's vanaspati was singled out because production costs of the oilare lower as the country levies no import duty on raw materials, mainlycrude palm oil, compared with a 65-percent duty in India.This makes Indian vanaspati manufacturers uncompetitive on their hometurf, traders say.Nepal exported 125,000 tonnes of vanaspati in 2000/01 (mid-July tomid-July).All Nepali products must also have at least 25-percent domesticmaterial or labour content to enjoy the duty free facility in India."This new provision is in the long-term interest of Nepal and will helpsustained growth of our industries," Acharya said.India, Nepal's largest trading partner, accounts for nearly 40 percentof the kingdom's total trade.Officials said following the treaty exports to New Delhi increased to27.30 billion Nepali rupees ($351.48 million) in 2000/01, a more thantwo-fold increase from 12.53 billion rupees two years ago.New Delhi had a surplus of 19.5 billion Nepali rupees in its trade withKathmandu last year.

KARACHI, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan's palm oil market saw little buyinginterest during the past week on thin demand, but dealers said on Tuesdaydwindling cottonseed supplies and expected Chinese buying would boostimports in coming weeks.They said weak international prices and overbought positions held bybig importers were responsible for the thin buying interest, but mostmtraders were waiting for the international market to take a cleardirection."A little buying interest has emerged in the last week but importersare still cautious," said Saulat Khan, a dealer in the southern port cityof Karachi.The domestic oil production season has ended with the close of thecotton harvest -- cottonseed oil is used to blend with other vegoils."Domestic oil production has come to an end and because summer,traditionally a high consumption season, is fast approaching, vegoilimports will rise," Khan said.Pakistan has produced 350,000 tonnes of cottonseed from its 2001/02cotton crop.Another palm oil trader said importers were waiting for the expectedfirming up of the international market when China starts buying sometimenext week."Chinese buying, expected in second week of March, will increase theprices by $15 to $20 per tonne," he added.China, the biggest palm oil importer, said last month it would import2.4 million tonnes of palm oil in 2002, one million tonnes more than in2001.Importers normally hold back orders when prices are low as higherrates bring bigger margins and better profits.Dealers on Tuesday quoted palm oil in the local market at 1,365 rupeesper maund (37.32 kg), up five rupees from the previous week's 1,360 rupeesper maund.Pakistan annually imports about 1.3 million tonnes of edible oilproducts, led by palm oil, mostly from Malaysia, to meet a domestic demandof 1.9 million tonnes.($1 = 60.16 rupees)

8 March,2002 (Business Times) - LITTLE-known INDEXgain Sdn Bhd is set toinvest in an oil palm plantation in the province of Talakag, Mindanao, amove that will change the livelihood of between 200 and 300 families inthe southern island of the Philippines.The company, an authorised procurator of a specialised project fundingloan syndicated house, had entered into a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with Novagreen Industries Corp, a firm basically engaged in tunaexports, on December 7 last year.The signing of the MOU will pave the way for the implementation of a US$60million (US$1 = RM3.80) oil palm plantation, covering some 10,000ha, inTalakag.INDEXgain executive director Jumahat Subaree said the company is awaitingclearance pertaining to land matters before conducting a due diligence.“We have now progressed in most matters, except for the land clearance.Once we get the clearance, we will be able to start due diligence, whichtakes about three months. Then we can start to implement the project,probably in July or August,” he said in an interview with Business Times.Jumahat said INDEXgain has syndicated offshore funding from its principalcompany, based in Liechtenstein. A letter of intent was issued by itsprincipal on December 21 last year on their interest in studying the loanapplication for the project.“At this stage, Novagreen has basically completed the documentation inpreparation for the due diligence.“As long as the land matters are not overcome, we cannot proceed furtherwith the loan syndication,” he said.Jumahat said the company is seeking the assistance of Philippine PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo to issue letters to the relevant authorities forland approval.He said the villagers in the concerned areas stand to benefit from theplantation project as it will improve their livelihood.“At present, the smalholders are each given about 5 acres of land tocultivate corn for their own consumption. This is not economically viable.There is also a lot of idle land in the area.“It will be better if they consolidate their land and integrate activitiesranging from ranching to oil palm plantation within the area,” he said.Jumahat said the company is also mulling the possibility of emulating theFederal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority’s land scheme forthe plantation project.“We intend to build a township, equipped with proper amenities such asschools and clinics for the smallholders,” he said.Noting that this is in line with the “Prosper Thy Neighbours” concept,Jumahat said such a move will help reduce the many problems faced by thepeople of Mindanao, such as unemployment.“If we can improve the economy of Mindanao, we can help settle problemssuch as illegal immigrants in Sabah and job security. If the economy ofMindanao improves, illegal immigrants in Sabah will want to go back toMindanao as there will be jobs available back home,” he said.Arroyo, during her visit to Malaysia last year, had called on Malaysiansto venture into the oil palm plantation sector.The Philippine President witnessed the signing of a MOU for the project inTakalag, along with five other MOUs with different proponents to developoil palm plantations worth a total of US$234 million during the 10thMindanao Business Conference in Cotabato in September last year.Other areas which interest INDEXgain are Arakan, Agusan, Saranggani andNorth Davao.However, Jumahat said the company is currently focusing on developing oilpalm plantations in Takalag.He said the company has identified and surveyed potential plantations. Theareas considered for funding are Takalag and Arakan, while Agusan,Seranggi and North Davao are ready but not under consideration forfunding.INDEXgain was established about a year ago to provide consultancyservices, including project funding and refinancing.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Indonesia have proposed ajoint trade mission to China and India to seek better access to the palmoil markets of these two major export markets.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Malaysia's crude palm oil futures willtrade within a range of 900 to 1,200 ringgit ($237-$316) a tonne this yearwith high global soy crop and lower Indian imports keeping a lid on price,a leading Indian trader said on Friday."I forecast that CPO prices will range between a high of 1,200 ringgitand a low of 900. We are likely to see the highs in the earlier part ofthe year and the lows firstly around June and then again aroundSeptember," said Dorab Mistry, director of Godrej International Ltd."Once again this year, we are faced with huge soya crops in Brazil andArgentina. We also have an extremely competitive currency in Argentinathat should give Argentine soyoil exporters a big advantage," he told anedible oil conference.Mistry expected prices of refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palmolein to range between $280 and $350 a tonne FOB Malaysia this year.Soyoil is a direct competitor to palm oil.Malaysia's benchmark third-month May crude palm oil futures contract

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Reuters) - Malaysia's crude palm oil futures mayreach 1,500 ringgit ($395) a tonne in the third quarter of 2002 due to anexpected decline in global edible oil stocks, an industry source said onThursday."The second position on MDEX should approach 1,500 ringgit becausestocks are down,"James Fry, managing director of LMC International Ltd, aBritish-based economic consultancy told Reuters on the sidelines of anedible oils conference.The second month of the crude palm oil futures traded on the MalaysianDerivatives Exchange (MDEX) last touched 1,500 ringgit in May 1999. Thecontract closed at 1,163 ringgit on Thursday.Fry said there would be a decrease of about 1.5 million tonnes ofedible oils stocks, which include soyoil, rapeseed and sunflower, in2001/2002 (October-September).The level of stocks believed to be available in the global market wascurrently estimated at 3.4-3.7 million tonnes, according to industrysources."This translates into a price forecast that sees the MDEX secondposition approach 1,500 ringgit during the July-September quarter, beforea reaction occurs to higher CPO output and the crushing of the newseason's oilseeds in the northern hemisphere," said Fry."Prices in the final calendar quarter will average in the region of1,300 ringgit per tonne," he added.Fry said decline in global edible oils stocks was mainly due to fallsin sunflower and rapeseed production, adding that an expected fall inMalaysia's palm oil output in 2002 was also a factor.Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producer, was expected toproduce as little as 11 million tonnes in 2002, down from 11.8 milliontonnes last year because of the current replanting programme and theimpact of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) -- A Sudan Shipping Company is forgingties with Halim Mazmin Bhd, Malaysia's mainline operator, to increasefreight frequency between the two countries, Sudan's Minister of FinanceAbdel Rahim Mahmoud Hamdi said here today.

The Argentine government on Monday announced the implementation of anexport duty on agricultural and industrial goods. Raw materials such asoilseeds and grains will be subject to a 10% duty and manufacturedcommodities to one of 5%. The latter will be applicable to exports ofvegetable oils and oilmeals. The introduction of an export tax was alreadydiscussed last week. The decision contrasts with President Duhaldesstatement earlier this year in which he dismissed such plans. EconomyMinister Remes Lenicov yesterday called the export tax a temporarymeasure, but no details were disclosed concerning its duration. Thetaxation of agricultural exports will bring much needed revenues for theheavily indebted government. The measure evoked strong protests fromfarmers, which fear that the export tax will translate intocorrespondingly lower domestic prices. As a complementary step, thegovernment reduced the VAT from 21% to 11%. Favourable rainfall has beenreceived in central Argentina since March 1 and has improved growingconditions somewhat in parts of Cordoba and Santa Fe, which had becomecritically dry. A weather system moving through S. America is forecast tobring widespread and above normal rainfall to the Pampa region. Thesoybean harvest is under way only in the northern regions. In most areas,soybeans can still benefit from the improved weather conditions, butdryness has already done some irreversible damage to first-crop soybeansin northeastern Cordoba and central Santa Fe. The Buenos Aires province isexpected to remain largely dry in coming days, boding well for sunflowerharvesting, which will soon begin in this region. The sunflower harvesthas progressed to 17% or 0.35 Mn ha nationwide, from which 680 Thd T ofsunseed were produced, implying a high average yield of nearly 2.0 T perhectare so far. Yield results from the key growing areas of the B. Airesprovince must now be awaited, but under continued favourable conditions atotal crop of 3.5 Mn T can be expected.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Reuters) - China will eventually use its palm oilimport quotas for this year, but the timing of its purchases and how muchthe country is going to buy remain a mystery, traders said on Wednesday."There are talks that two-third of the quota will go to private sectorand the rest to state enterprises," said one trader in Malaysia."The state enterprises will be told not to import anything until laterthis year because China is harvesting rapeseed. The government doesn'twant the local market to collapse," he added.China issued palm oil import quotas for 2002 in February, totalling 2.4million tonnes, up from last year's 1.4 million tonnes following its entryto the World Trade Organisation (WTO).China is expected to buy Refined, Bleached, Deodorised (RBD) palmolein, which is mostly used in the country's instant noodle industry, fromMalaysia and Indonesia.But the government said this week it has not delivered this year'simport quotas for farm products, including wheat, corn and edible oils, totrading firms and there might be a delay in the March 5 deadline.The possible delay added to anxiety in Malaysia and Indonesia, theworld's largest producers, because Chinese buyers could not import edibleoil without government licences."Even prominent players in China are not sure as to when the import(licences) will be on hand," said one trader.China bought 1.02 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia in 2000, upfrom 800,135 tonnes in 1999.

07 March 2002 (BusinessTimes) - MALAYSIA’S crude palm oil (CPO) prices areexpected to rally in tandem with the outcome of a major seminar on thecommodity’s price outlook today.Traders said the market currently relies on market-moving news to bepresented by industry experts before players can initiate their positions.“There is a general consensus that CPO prices may react favourably to ahost of good news from the seminar and may reach the RM1,200 a tonne levelnext week,” a trader told Business Times yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.The Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (MDEX) will hold the annual palm andlauric oils conference and exhibition on CPO price outlook 2002/2003 inSeri Kembangan, Selangor, today.The two-day event, which will be officiated by Primary Industries MinisterDatuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik, is being attended by local and foreignindustry experts.“There is a general consensus that the world is focusing only on soyabeanand palm oil at the moment due to the tightening supply of their competing15 edible oils,” said the trader.Other edible oils and fats include coconut, cottonseed, rapeseed, corn,tallow and linseed.The trader said that any positive forecast on CPO by experts during theseminar may boost the commodity’s prices, at least until July whenrapeseed and sunflower oil are due for harvest.“Projections of a drop in CPO production by year-end, the possibility of arecurrence of El Nino and China’s pledge to buy 2.4 million tonnes of thecommodity are enough to excite the market,” he said.The trader added that global rapeseed production for the 2001/2002 seasonwill see a decline of 1.37 per cent to 13.67 million tonnes from 13.86million tonnes in 2000/2001.“Global sunflower production is also expected to decline by 13.8 per centto 7.5 million tonnes during the 2001/2002 season against 8.7 milliontonnes in 2000/2001,” he said.“At best, CPO prices can continue to remain rangebound between RM1,150 andRM1,180 a tonne, at least for the whole of next week after the seminarends,” he said.Meanwhile at MDEX, CPO futures contracts ended higher with the benchmarkthird-month May delivery closing RM1 higher at RM1,166 a tonne.March, April and June deliveries gained RM3, RM8 and RM2 to close atRM1,153, RM1,159 and RM1,175 a tonne respectively.Open interests gained 260 contracts to close at 9,367 contracts, whilevolume gained 646 lots to close at 2,098 lots.