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MARKET DEVELOPMENT
15-05-2002

President Bush signs, praises farm bill

WASHINGTON 5/14/2002 (AP)- President Bush on Monday signed a $190 billionfarm bill guaranteeing higher subsidies to growers in Midwestern andSouthern states where key political races will decide which party controlsCongress next year.At an early morning ceremony, Bush said the six-year bill ``will provide asafety net for farmers, and will do so without encouraging overproductionand depressing prices''- a position contrary to what administrationofficials argued when the bill was being written.The subsidies could help Bush in his quest to win back control of theSenate for the GOP, while giving him a chance to rack up IOUs for his own2004 re-election effort.``If he had vetoed it, it would have been very disappointing,'' saidMinnesota farmer Nathan Johnson. ``In the 2000 election, almost all of theagricultural areas voted for President Bush. They expected his support ...and we certainly have gotten it.''Some senators already are making plans to provide farmers with even moremoney this year in the form of a disaster-aid package for weather-relateddamage to 2001 crops.The new farm law will increase spending by nearly 80 percent over the costof continuing existing programs at a time when the president has beencalling on lawmakers to show fiscal restraint. The bill is estimated tocost $190 billion over the next 10 years, although the programs must berenewed after six.The signing ceremony was scheduled for 7:45 a.m. EDT, assuring widecoverage by farm broadcasters while minimizing exposure elsewhere in thecountry. Bush said his timing was a nod to farmers who get up early everyday to produce America's food. He was flanked by farm-state lawmakers fromboth parties who hope to benefit politically from the measure.Bush senior political adviser Karl Rove had told GOP senators recentlythat Bush would not stage a high-profile signing ceremony to avoidantagonizing conservatives upset with the bill's price tag, a personfamiliar with that meeting said.``It looks as though Bush is concerned about allowing the Democrats tocreate some domestic issues,'' said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.Republicans have been burned by farm issues before: In 1986, unhappinesswith GOP farm policy helped Democrats win at least two Senate seats. Inthe heat of the 1998 campaign, President Clinton vetoed a GOP farm-aidpackage and forced lawmakers to add substantially more money.Ken Cook, a critic of the bill who is president of the EnvironmentalWorking Group, said Bush was in a no-win situation. ``Certainly, it was aloser to stand on principles here when the politics are so overwhelming.''One of the bill's biggest beneficiaries is expected to be SenateAgriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat facingre-election this fall who stood behind Bush during the ceremony. Harkinsaid the bill ``is the economic plan for rural America.''The administration had complained that both Senate and House bills fromwhich the final law was fashioned would encourage price-depressing cropsurpluses. Some Republicans implored him to veto it even after the signingceremony was scheduled.The European Union, Canada, Australia and other countries also havecriticized the bill, saying the larger subsidies would harm U.S. effortsto lower international trade barriers.``I would love to see him veto it. It is a budget buster,'' Sen. DonNickles, R-Okla., said on ``Fox News Sunday.''The bill gives farmers incentive to overproduce, Nickles said, predictingit will eventually force farm prices down. ``I don't think that helpsfarmers in the long run,'' he said.The farm bill raises subsidy rates for grain and cotton growers andrevives a target-price system abolished by the 1996 Freedom to Farm law toprovide supplemental income when commodity prices are below certainlevels.The bill also brings back subsidies for wool and honey producers andprovides new payments for milk, peanuts, lentils and dry peas. Farms thatraise livestock and produce will benefit from an 80 percent increase inspending on land-conservation programs.Support for the 1996 law dropped after commodity prices plummeted in 1998and Congress responded with a series of annual bailouts of the farmeconomy. The new law, which essentially continues those bailouts,initially was expected to cost about $170 billion over the next 10 years.However, weaker-than-expected commodity prices are now expected to causecrop subsidies to rise and push the cost up.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

Forbes Medi-Tech develops cholesterol-lowering coo

VANCOUVER, May 9 (CNW)-- Calorie counting consumers fighting the battle ofthe bulge may have a new weapon in the fight against fat.Canadian biotechnology company Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. has developed acooking oil, which in a recently completed clinical trial was shown tohelp people lose weight and lower their cholesterol levels.In a clinical study conducted at McGill University in Montreal, 24 healthymen on a controlled diet incorporating Forbes' "designer oil" showed astatistically significant (p less than 0.05) decrease in total body weighttissue volumes in the range of 0.36 to 0.51 kg (0.8 lbs. and 1.1 lbs.) in28 days. Study participants who received olive oil in their diet (controlgroup) did not demonstrate any changes in body compartment volumes. Inaddition, consumption of designer oil resulted in a decrease of LowDensity Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations of 16.3 per cent."This is the first statistically significant data demonstrating designeroil's ability to reduce body weight. Generally, fats and oils contributeto body weight gain not reduction. Forbes' designer oil could be used as afat replacement for people trying to manage their weight with the addedbenefit of reducing LDL cholesterol levels, and thus providing aprotective effect against cardiovascular disease, a significant riskfactor for overweight people," said Dr. Jerzy Zawistowski, Vice President,Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. "The studyfindings also indicate that long-term consumption of designer oil may leadto further body weight reduction than shown in the 28 day study."A large body of scientific evidence has shown that a diet high in fat isassociated with an increased incidence of obesity, coronary heart disease,hypertension, insulin resistance and certain cancers.Obesity continues to be a growing problem in North America and is reachingepidemic proportions. In 1999, an estimated 61 per cent of U.S. adultswere classified as overweight or obese (BMI greater than 25). Some 300,000Americans die each year from illnesses attributed to obesity (compared tomore than 400,000 deaths a year associated with cigarette smoking). Thetotal direct and indirect costs attributed to overweight and obesity inthe U.S. amounted to US$117 billion in the year 2000.Forbes' designer oil (patent pending in the US and worldwide) hasdemonstrated good sensory properties and oxidative stability and issuitable as a cooking oil. Forbes Medi-Tech is currently in discussionswith food companies in both North America and the Far East who have aninterest in marketing its designer oil. Sales of healthy cooking oils inJapan alone reached 20 billion JPY (US$150 million) in 2001.Forbes' designer oil is formulated with medium chain triglycerides (MCT),plant phytosterols, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. "Medium chaintriglycerides are metabolized in the body differently than other types offats," noted Dr. Peter Jones, Professor, School of Dietetics and HumanNutrition, McGill University. "These oils are oxidized very quickly andburned as energy rather than stored as body fat. The inclusion of plantphytosterols into the oil helps block the absorption of cholesterolresulting in a significant reduction in total and LDL cholesterol."The designer oil clinical study involved 24 healthy men aged 26 to 61years with body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 31 kg/m(2). Studyparticipants were placed on a controlled diet of designer oil or olive oilfor 28 days and switched to the alternate diet after a four-week washoutperiod. Blood samples and magnetic resonance imaging scans were taken ondays 1 and 29 of each experimental phase and energy expenditure wasmeasured by respiratory gas exchange on days 2 and 28.This was the second clinical study Forbes conducted on designer oil. In astudy of 17 healthy, overweight women conducted between October 1999 andMay 2000, the designer oil diet reduced LDL cholesterol levels by 14.5 percent with a corresponding increase in energy expenditure. Forbescommissioned the latest study to determine whether the increased energyexpenditure seen in the original study was statistically indicative ofweight loss. The results of the new study confirm this.Results of this new designer oil clinical study were presented at theInternational Society for the Study of Fats and Lipids (MP) AmericanChemical Society Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, May 5 and 6, 2002.Study results will also be presented to the Institute of Food Technologyin Anaheim, California on June 15-19, 2002, and the International OilCongress in Istanbul, Turkey, August 12-15, 2002.Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. is a diversified health sciences company dedicatedto the research, development and commercialization of innovativenutraceutical and pharmaceutical products derived from nature. Byextracting plant sterols from wood pulping by-products, Forbes isdeveloping cholesterol-lowering agents to be used both as functional foodingredients and pharmaceutical therapeutics in the battle against heartdisease. Forbes is also developing innovative fermentation technology thatconverts plant sterols into pharmaceutical fine chemicals, essential inthe production of various pharmaceutical steroids such as contraceptiveagents and anti-inflammatories. Phytrol(TM) is a registered trademark ofForbes Medi-Tech Inc.The NASDAQ National Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange have notreviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy ofthe content of this News Release. This Press Release containsforward-looking statements concerning anticipated revenue to be receivedby the Company, and other information in future periods. Forward-lookingstatements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain,and actual achievements of the Company and other results and occurrencesmay differ materially from those reflected in the forward-lookingstatements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors,including, without limitation, the Company's need for funding by the thirdquarter of 2002, which funding may not be available to the Company onacceptable terms or at all, uncertainty that the purchaser of the Amquiproperty will make the scheduled payments on time or at all, or that thepurchase and sale transaction will close as anticipated or at all; risksrespecting the completion and outcome of clinical trials; regulatoryrisks; marketing / manufacturing risks; strategic alliance risks;intellectual property risks; risks inherent in functional food andpharmaceutical research and clinical trials which may cause any particularresearch projects and/or clinical trials to be discontinued; the need tocontrol costs and the possibility of unanticipated expenses; uncertaintyas to the Company's ability to successfully increase production quantitiesof AD / ADD on a cost effective basis; risks with respect to foreignoperations including changes in government policies; the need forregulatory approvals to market the Company's sterol-based food ingredient;uncertainty as to market acceptance of the Company's products and theCompany's ability to generate projected sales volumes and product prices;the need for continued cooperation and performance by the Company'sstrategic partners; uncertainty as to the successful conclusion of salesdiscussions currently underway, and of those anticipated, with third partypurchasers. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on thebeliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date thestatements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation toupdate forward-looking statements if circumstances or management'sbeliefs, expectations or opinions should change. For the reasons set forthabove, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-lookingstatements./For further information: please contact: Martin Livingston, Director,Investor Relations, Telephone: (604) 681-8976, E-mail:irinfo@forbesmedi.com; RJ (Don) MacDonald, Chief Financial Officer,Telephone: (604) 689-5899, E-mail: dmacdonald@forbesmedi.com/

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

Activists aghast at U.S. farm subsidies bill

May 09, 2002 (AFP) - The US passage of a 173.5 billion-dollar farm subsidybill threatens to injure developing countries, aghast activists, officialsand trade analysts said."It is a very sad day for the poor farmers of developing countries,"said asenior World Bank official, speaking on condition of anonymity a day afterthe US Senate passed the measure.The legislation now goes to President George W. Bush, who has said heintends to sign the 10-year, 173.5 billion-dollar bill into law in theteeth of foreign opposition.Activists pointed out that the United States had been a fierce proponentof free agricultural trade in last November's World Trade Organizationmeeting in Doha, Qatar.That meeting resulted in the so-called Doha Development Round,negotiations promising to phase out global farm subsidies that average sixtimes the estimated 50 billion dollars the rich countries provide annuallyin foreign aid to the developing world."This is one gain that would not only help American farmers and ranchersbut would help lift millions out of poverty in the developing world,"USTrade Representative Robert Zoellick had said at the time, when trying topressure the Europeans into an agreement.Zoellick insisted this week that the United States remained committed tofree farm trade, emphasizing that the European Union and Japan both hadhigher levels of subsidies than the United States.The new US farm bill also contained a circuit breaker that would reducefarm support if it reached WTO limits, he said.But the Europeans were hardly convinced."At a time when all developed countries have accepted the direction offarm support away from trade- and production-distorting measures, the USis doing an about turn,"said European Agriculture Commissioner FranzFischler."We cannot negotiate on the basis of 'Do as I say, not as I do.'"Oxfam America, a strong supporter of greater access to rich countries'markets, said the new bill would have a severe impact on developingcountries."We are absolutely appalled,"said Oxfam America policy department directorJo Marie Griesgraber."For poor farmers in developing countries, it means that imported goodsare much cheaper than what they can produce, so the small farmers are putout of business,"she said."Then you have the flood of immigrants into the cities. Then you have massunemployment and you have unrest. It is increasing poverty. It isincreasing urbanization."Jeffrey Schott, trade economist at the Institute for InternationalEconomics, said the subsidies' passage would complicate the task of USnegotiators in the Doha Development Round."We will need to have significant reforms in the Doha Round if it is goingto succeed, and many of those reforms will benefit developing countries'exporters,"he said."If we cannot move forward in that area, it is going to make it much moredifficult to achieve the objectives that the US and EU have in otherareas, including in manufacturing trade."Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council,agreed."Logically, it would have an adverse impact on most of the rest ofthe world,"he said.It also removed the moral leverage that the United States had enjoyed inthe trade negotiations as it sought to press the Europeans to drop theirattachment to farm subsidies.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

ARGENTINA SOYOIL TO FLOOD MARKET, PALM OIL GLOOMY

JAKARTA, May 13 (Reuters) - The Southeast Asia palm oil market is gettingnervous following more arrivals of soyoil from Argentina, with India, theworld largest edible oils buyer, already showing huge appetite for soyoilbecause of lower prices.Some 200,000 tonnes of soyoil -- a direct competitor of palm oil --from Argentina is expected to arrive in Indian ports every month from Junethrough October, as soybean harvests in the world's third largest growerare set to reach full swing next month."Now most of the problems have stabilised in Argentina and renewedbuying has started from India," a Malaysian trader said."With prices of palm oil at high premiums... June...to October, allthese months, India will take at least 200,000 tonnes of soyoil," headded.The trader said refined bleached deodorised (RBD) palm olein was at$711 a tonne cif India after tax while crude degummed soyoil was at $572 atonne. Even after a refining cost of $25 a tonne, soyoil is still muchcheaper than palm oil.Argentina's financial chaos including default on the national debt anddevaluation of the peso, combined with a slow soybean harvest, halted thecountry's soyoil exports for two months, helping boosting prices of palmoil.Argentina has harvested almost a half its projected 29.5 million-tonnecrop but traders said farmers may continue to retain more merchandise inthe absence of a clear economic plan.India bought around 70,000 tonnes of soy oil from Argentina, Brazil andthe United States in March for April arrivals, traders said."India has bought a little more than 150,000 tonnes of soyoil in May.We may still see some palm oil buying this month but sales will definitelygo down next month," said another Malaysian trader.India is expected to import 450,000 tonnes of palm oil in May from topgrowers Malaysia and Indonesia, traders said.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

Golden win for USM at exhibition

PENANG Friday, May 10, 2002 (The Star) - It was a smashing success forUniversiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which swept five gold awards and a silveraward for its inventions, at the 30th International Exhibition ofInventions, New Techniques and Products 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland lastweek.USM won for all six inventions submitted at the exhibition, the largest ofits kind in the world, displaying over 1,000 inventions by 645 exhibitorsfrom 38 countries. The exhibition, organised by the World IntellectualProperty Organisation, was held from May 1 to 5.â€œWe are very proud of the achievement by our researchers and their teammembers. We hope this will inspire more researchers to strive forexcellence in their research and development efforts,â€ USM vice-chancellorProf Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak told a press conference to recognise theaward recipients at USM yesterday.The gold haul is the largest won by USM at an international competition.USMâ€™s gold award winners are Assoc Prof Zulfigar Yassin (for his researchon â€œFast growth oyster culture process for the food industryâ€™â€™), AssocProf Mohd Noor Ahmad (for â€œAkuaSens â€“ disposable artificial tongue foreasy mineral water verification), Assoc Prof Mas Rosemal Hakim Mas Haris(for â€œRubberFloc â€“ water soluble rubberâ€™â€™), Assoc Prof Razip Samian (for â€œProduction of Liquid Bioplastic, PHA from palm oilâ€™â€™) and Dr Suzina SheikhHamid (for â€œCOROGRAF â€“ sea coral for bone graftingâ€™â€™).The universityâ€™s silver award winner was Assoc Prof Hanafi Ismail for hisresearch on â€œPalm Oil Fatty Acid (Pofa) â€“ a new and novel multi-functionalrubber additive based on palm oil fatty acidâ€™â€™.Prof Dzulkifli said the university was also looking for venture-capitalistclients from Malaysia and abroad to help commercialise some of theproducts.Apart from USM, Universiti Putra Malaysia received two gold and threesilver awards, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2 gold, 2 silver, 1bronze), Universiti Teknologi Mara (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze),Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) and UniversitiMalaya (1 gold).Earlier, state Education Committee chairman Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon said thestate government would help USM set up a RM300,000 â€œresource collaborativecentreâ€ at USMâ€™s Eureka Complex.With USMâ€™s world-class researchers in hand, he said, it was now importantto look at how their products could be further developed to create newproducts for the commercial market.â€œThere must be a proper mechanism to convert these findings into newproducts as we should look at ways of improving our product innovation andinnovation processes,â€ he added.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

MPOB DATA SEEN NEUTRAL

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures (MDEX) were upon Monday morning but dealers said the market could dip in the latesession following uninspiring crop data from the government.The official Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said just as the marketclosed for the morning that production, exports and closing stocks forApril were all down from a month ago.Speculation that MPOB's numbers could be friendlier than the Aprilestimates of private crop forecaster Ivan Wong had kept the market up inthe early session, traders said."But now, we find that the MPOB's numbers are quite different fromIvan Wong's," a dealer said. "At the best, what we have is aneutral-to-bearish picture."MPOB said crude palm oil output fell 3.31 percent to 863,120 tonnes inApril from 892,629 in March.It said end-April palm oil stocks were down 9.68 percent to 1.06million tonnes against 1.17 million tonnes at end-March.Exports stood at 861,537 tonnes against 893,241 tonnes in March, itsaid.Wong last week estimated April production at 858,000 tonnes, exportsat 870,000 and closing stocks at 1.04 million.Palm oil's benchmark third-month July futures in Kuala Lumpur were upnine ringgit at 1,262 ringgit a tonne in Monday's morning session. Volumewas below average at 780 lots.In physical palm oil, the May/June contract for the southern andcentral regions saw bids at 1,265 ringgit a tonne, against sale offers at1,270. No business was reported.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
14-05-2002

Soy production to increase for next two years, FAS

ARGENTINA, May 9, 2002 (USDA) -- Lack of credit and devaluation of theArgentine peso are expected shift area next year to crops which requirelower inputs such as soybeans and sunflower. Soybean production this yearis estimated to increase to 30 million tons (up 500,000 tons from theprevious estimate). Soybean production next year is expected to be 29.5million tons, as lower yields offset higher area.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
13-05-2002

Novagreen banks on Malaysian expertise in palm oil

13 May 2002 (Business Times) - NOVAGREEN Industries Corp of thePhilippines is banking on its proposed collaboration with Malaysiaâ€™sINDEXgain Sdn Bhd to expand its oil palm plantation business in Mindanao.Its chief operating officer, Albert Magallanes, said the company and thePhilippines stand to gain from this collaboration, especially withMalaysiaâ€™s proven expertise in the oil palm industry.â€œWhile we are able to expand our business in the oil palm sector, thiswill be a stepping stone for the development of the industry, which willalso boost the Philippine economy, especially Mindanaoâ€™s,â€ he toldBusiness Times in Kuala Lumpur recently.Magallanes was in Kuala Lumpur to meet the trade counsellor at thePhilippine embassy, Glenn G. Penaranda, to discuss the proposedcollaboration with INDEXgain to develop 10,000ha of oil palm plantation inTalakag, Mindanao.Novagreen, a tuna fish exporter, and INDEXgain, an authorised procuratorof a specialised project funding loan syndicated house, signed amemorandum of agreement (MOA) on December 7 last year to develop a US$60million (US$1 = RM3.80) oil palm plantation in Talakag.â€œWe are in the second stage of negotiations, which is on funding for theproject,â€ Magallanes said, adding that it will be the largest oil palmplantation in Mindanao if it takes off.At present, the largest oil palm plantation in Mindanao, covering 6,800ha,is being developed by Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd.â€œWe expect no fewer than 6,000 workers, including skilled ones, to work inour oil palm plantation,â€ Magallanes said.But what is important, he added, is that it will be an integrated estate,which will lead to the development of a township. â€œAll operations,including those of government and non-governmental agencies, will becentralised in one area, equipped with social facilities.â€Magallanes said there is increasing interest from growers to offer theirland for consolidation into the oil palm plantation.Novagreen president and chief executive officer Racquel S. Simon said sheis confident that the project will be a success through the joint venturewith a Malaysian group.Furthermore, she said, Magallanesâ€™ nine years of experience as manager ofan oil palm plantation in Kalimantan is a plus point for Novagreen toprosper in this sector.Besides Talakag, Novagreen and INDEXgain plan to develop other areas withoil palm which include Arakan, Agusan, Saranggani and North Davao.Including Talakag, investments for the projects are expected to be withinrange of US$234 million.Novagreen and INDEXgain, which had completed their due diligence on theproject will submit a report to INDEXgain's principal company, based inLienchtenstein, Switzerland for loan approval.INDEXgain executive director Jumahat Subaree said the companies arecurrently fine-tuning the report."We will leave for Lienchtenstein on May 29 to submit the comprehensivereport," he said.He reiterated that INDEXgain is not a joint venture partner withNovagreen, merely facilitating syndicated loan for the project.But the company will provide management skill in handling oil palmplantation."A reserach centre will also be developed in the area to create a pool ofoil palm managers. We hope that the local filipinos will manage the oilpalm in future," he said.Jumahat said its collaboration with Novagreen will provide an opportunityfor other Malaysian companies to invest in Mindanao.For instance, he said the company is bringing along with them a Malaysianarchitect to design affordable houses for the workers, as well asgovernment and public buildings.KACArchitect, INDEXgain's associate company, is helping to help design thehouses and buildings in the area.Its principal, Khairil Anwar Halim said the company is looking at building1,500 units of affordable houses of bungalows and semi-detached houses."Initially, we are looking at between US$7 million and US$8 millioninfrastructure investment," he said.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
09-05-2002

Guthrie Invests RM3 Million In Biotechnology Resea

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd is set to improvethe quality of oil palm plants by investing about RM3 million inbiotechnology research, locally and internationally.Through its wholly owned subsidiary Guthrie Biotech Laboratory Sdn Bhd(GBLSB), today Guthrie has entered into research collaboration agreementswith Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia(UKM).

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