Business Times

26 August, 2010

Crude palm oil futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives declined slightly yesterday in reaction to weaker export data, dealers said.

Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services estimated a drop by 7.6 per cent in the export of Malaysian palm oil products for the first 25 days of August at 992,319 tonnes compared with 1,074,329 tonnes shipped in the same period of July.

Meanwhile, Societe Generale de Surveillance estimated that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for the period fell 14.9 per cent to 939,456 tonnes.

Dealers said market players also remained concerned over slow demand and stock build up as production improved.

At close, September 2010 fell RM30 to RM2,640 per tonne, October 2010 decreased RM29 to RM2,541 per tonne, November 2010 went down RM24 to RM2,486 per tonne and December 2010 was RM13 lower at RM2,468 per tonne.

Total volume rose to 29,218 lots from 28,938 lots the previous day while open interests decreased to 68,654 contracts from 69,199 contracts earlier.

On the physical market, August South was down RM30 at RM2,670 per tonne from RM2,700 per tonne the previous day.

Bookmark to

By Hanin Adnan

The Star

26 August, 2010

Higher average selling prices and sales volume boost performances

Listed plantation companies which released their quarterly results yesterday generally posted stronger performances buoyed by higher average selling prices of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) as well as higher sales volume.

Genting Bhd unit Genting Plantations Bhd saw net profit increasing to RM71.4mil for its second quarter ended June 30 from RM59mil in the previous quarter.

Revenue for the quarter under review firmed RM231.2mil on the back of RM95.6mil in pre-tax profit.

The group attributed the stronger performance to higher prices of palm products, an increase in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production and gain on dilution of shareholdings in a subsidiary.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to

The Star

26 August, 2010

Only 10.5% members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) have the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) status due to the high cost for certification and low premiums for sustainable crude palm oil (CPO).

“On paper, it’s been said one can get a premium of US$50 per tonne for RSPO certified CPO on top of the existing CPO market price. But in reality, the premium is more like US$10 per tonne,” Gapki secretary-general Joko Supriyono told StarBiz.

Of Gapki’s 380 members, about 40 were RSPO certified, said Supriyono. “It is expensive to get RSPO and the premium for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) is insufficient to cover the costs,” he said.

Palm oil producers are also reluctant to seek CSOP as the extra cost for the status is wholly borne by producers.

“Other key players along the palm oil supply chain do not want to share the added cost for sustainable certification. It is too expensive for many producers to bear all these added costs,” said Supriyono. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to

Business Times

25 August, 2010

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were lower at close yesterday due to technical selling, dealers said.

They said some market players were a little bit concerned over possible slower demand in the near future as well as stock build-up as production improved.

“Overall, the market was affected by the lack of fresh leads but sentiment remained positive,” a dealer said.

At the close, September 2010 fell RM47 to RM2,670 per tonne, October 2010 decreased RM58 to RM2,570 per tonne, November 2010 went down RM50 to RM2,510 per tonne and December 2010 was RM59 lower at RM2,481 per tonne.

Bookmark to

By Thomas Kutty Abraham

Bloomberg

25 August, 2010

Palm oil declined to the lowest level in a month on concern that inventory in Malaysia, the second-biggest grower, may climb as exports fall.

The November-delivery contract declined as much as 0.5 percent to 2,497 ringgit ($796) a metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the lowest intraday level since July 30. Futures, down 8.4 percent from a 15-month high close on Aug. 9, ended the morning session at 2,501 ringgit.

“Exports don’t look promising and that may have some impact on the stockpiles,” said Ivy Ng, an analyst at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. “External markets and a weaker crude oil are also not supportive for the market.” Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to

By Ooi Tee Ching

Business Times

25 August, 2010

MALAYSIA’S second largest palm oil producer IOI Corp Bhd saw its fourth-quarter profit rise by 12 per cent, mainly due to lower tax charges.

IOI Corp’s full-year profit doubled to RM2.04 billion on foreign exchange gains, no further property losses in Singapore and better palm oil prices.

Net profit for the quarter to June 30 2010 was RM547.05 million, a slight improvement from RM487.07 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue, however, slid 2 per cent to RM3.06 billion.

IOI Corp, controlled by the family of Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, expressed caution for the current year ending June 30 2011.
“The global economic growth is starting to show signs of slowing down. It will be a challenging year ahead,” the group said in its filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to

The Star

25 August, 2010

PETALING JAYA: Cargo surveyor Intertek said Wednesday that the country’s palm oil exports dropped 7.6% to 992,319 tonnes in the August 1 to 25 period compared to the same period in July.

Meanwhile, SGS said Malaysia’s palm oil exports fell 14.9% to 939,456 tonnes in the same period compared to the July period.

Plantation stocks were mostly lower in late morning trade with IOI Corp down 1 sen to RM5.24, Batu Kawan 6 sen lower at RM11.88 and KLK dropping 4 sen to RM16.88.

Crude palm oil for November delivery was RM8 lower at RM2,502 per tonne.

Bookmark to

By Hilary Chiew

Free Malaysia Today

25 August, 2010

In the last three weeks, Sarawak was abuzz with news of a particular climate change mitigation mechanism called REDD (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries).

First, a news article by Reuters informed that an Australian carbon trading company has signed a carbon offset deal with nine tribal leaders that would purportedly preserved more than 100,000ha of forests in the state.

It would be a 50-50 deal, according to the developer of the carbon offset scheme, Shift2Neutral. About 10,000 people from the 24 villages stand to be paid for keeping their forests intact for the next 20 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to