Business Times

9 September, 2010

DULL demand from overseas and domestic buyers will keep crude palm oil futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rangebound next week, a dealers said.

“It is difficult to judge the market movement next week because the holiday is too long and most traders have already stocked up their positions before the Muslim (Hari Raya) celebration,” he said.

The dealer said trading may be also tight as investors would look out for the data on the first ten days of palm oil exports in September and the monthly industry statistics to be released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Thomas Kutty Abraham

Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) — Palm oil futures jumped by the most in more than three weeks amid speculation that supplies of U.S. soybeans, which can be crushed to make a substitute oil, may be lower than expected.

The November-delivery contract surged as much as 2.2 percent to 2,626 ringgit ($844) a metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the biggest intraday gain since Aug. 13, and was at 2,614 ringgit at the 12:30 p.m. break in Kuala Lumpur. Futures gained 1.1 percent last week, the first weekly advance in three.

“There are some concerns the U.S. soybean crop may be lower than expected, and that’s going to act as a catalyst for palm oil,” said Arhnue Tan, an analyst at ECM Libra Capital Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. The most-active contract traded at the highest level today since Aug. 18. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Ooi Tee Cheng

Business Times

9 September, 2010

NANNING: China’s southern province of Guangxi plans to buy more Malaysian palm oil as its food processing industry advances and its 48.6 million population grows, said several government officials.

It now imports around 20,000-30,000 tonnes of palm oil from IOI Corp Bhd.

“We welcome Malaysia’s investment. The oils and grain sector is a strategic area of focus,” said Li Xing, vice-mayor of Qinzhou.

“Over the last decade, Singapore’s Nobel Group has upgraded its grain processing plant to produce 600,000 tonnes of soyameal a year to feed the pigs, water buffaloes and poultry farms here,” she told Business Times on the sidelines of a media preview tour of the China-Asean Expo here recently. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Hanim Adnan

The Star

6 September, 2010

Production is stagnant with very few players in operations

PETALING JAYA: The biodiesel industry in Malaysia is at a standstill stage with almost zero production, said the Malaysian Biodiesel Association vice-president U.R. Unnithan.

He said many players were not able to maintain their operations given the high cost of production and the lack of the much needed incentive and subsidies from the Government.

Of the total installed production capacity of 2.6 million tonnes, production was stagnant with very few players in operation, Unnithan told StarBiz.

The situation was also reflected in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)’s latest statistics which showed that biodiesel export in July was at an alarmingly low level – 137 tonnes or 95% drop from 2,518 tonnes a month earlier. It is also the lowest biodiesel export recorded so far this year.

Unithan said it was sad to see the biodiesel industry, which has been identified as one of the 12 National Key Economic Activities (NKEA) under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, was being left “unproductive”, when the Government intend to fully implement its much delayed mandatory B5 biodiesel programme by June next year. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Jakarta Post

6 September, 2010

Burger King, the second-largest US hamburger chain, announced Friday that it would no longer buy palm oil from PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART), a company accused of destroying rain forests in Indonesia.

Burger King canceled its palm oil purchase contract with SMART after an independent report by Control Union Certification (CUC) and BSI group said that the Jakarta-based company’s plantation activities had negatively affected primary forests and peatlands. With that decision, the Miami-based fast-food chain was now joining Nestle and Unilever that had earlier also suspended their purchase contracts with SMART.

In a statement available on its website, SMART said that it was disappointed with Burger King’s decision, but said that it would continue to engage Burger King to help the fast-food chain understand SMART’s commitment on sustainable production methods. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Eny Wulandari

Jakarta Globe

5 September, 2010

Jakarta. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Sawit Watch have called on the World Bank to extend its international suspension of financing for the palm oil sector unless producers meet environmental criteria.

Jefri Saragih, head of Sawit’s campaign in Indonesia, said on Sunday that the World Bank must provide palm oil makers with clear guidelines on what they must do to reduce their industry’s impact on global warming.

Jefri delivered the statement in response to a World Bank meeting held in Frankfurt on Tuesday and Wednesday.

During the gathering, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation said it would promote and finance environmentally and socially sustainable palm oil. Read the rest of this entry »

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Business Times

4 September, 2010

Dull demand from overseas and domestic buyers will keep crude palm oil futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rangebound next week, a dealers said.

“It is difficult to judge the market movement next week because the holiday is too long and most traders have already stocked up their positions before the Muslim (Hari Raya) celebration,” he said.

The dealer said trading may be also tight as investors would look out for the data on the first ten days of palm oil exports in September and the monthly industry statistics to be released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

A lackluster performance was reported for August by cargo surveyors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Business Times

4 September, 2010

MALAYSIAN crude palm oil futures closed more than 1 per cent higher yesterday on short-covering ahead of the Muslim festive season, but a firmer ringgit capped gains, a trader said.

Muslims worldwide will mark the end next week of the month-long Ramadan fasting period, when plantation workers in top palm oil producers, Indonesia and Malaysia, usually go on long holidays, triggering worries of tight supplies.

“There is some technical rebound in anticipation of a long holiday next week, and the delay of Malaysian Palm Oil Board data is not good news for the market too,” said a trader in Kuala Lumpur, referring to monthly palm oil figures released by the industry regulator.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board yesterday said August’s palm oil production, stocks, exports and imports data will be released on September 15. Read the rest of this entry »

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