Business Times

9 September, 2010

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures prices hit a three-week high yesterday as market players took up positions ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays, dealers said.

They said market talk of a strong Chinese demand for vegetable oils spurred volume.

A dealer said the likelihood of a lower-than-expected US soyabean crop also fuelled the rise in the price.

September 2010 contract increased by RM44 to close at RM2,739 per tonne, October 2010 rose RM46 to RM2,670, November 2010 went up RM50 to RM2,620 and December added RM48 to RM2,612.

Turnover increased to 14,090 lots from 10,997 lots last Friday.

Open interest declined to 67,081 contracts from 69,764 previously.

On the physical market, September South added RM30 to RM2,750 per tonne.

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The Ecologist

9 September, 2010

US food giant refuses to stop buying palm oil from Sinar Mas group as Burger King joins Nestle and others in criticising its illegal activities

The billion-dollar agribusiness giant Cargill is refusing to cut its ties with an Indonesian palm oil supplier who has admitted illegally clearing forest.

Nestle, Kraft, Unilever and Burger King have stopped trading with the Sinar Mas group after an independent audit of its operations found it broke Indonesian law by clearing land before any assessment had been made of its conservation value. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Romen Bose

AFP

9 September, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s once-vaunted biofuel industry has seen production grind to a halt since a March announcement that the government’s mandatory switch to the green energy will be delayed to June 2011.

Malaysia had ambitions to become a global leader in biodiesel and unveiled grand plans for the industry as the price of crude oil spiralled, peaking in mid-2008.

However, the future of the alternative fuels is now in question given cheaper crude prices and the higher cost of Malaysia’s palm oil.

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) figures show that the production of biodiesel, a mixture of diesel with five percent processed palm oil, dropped 99 percent from 12,640 tonnes in March to just 137 tonnes in July.

Malaysian Biodiesel Association vice-president U.R. Unnithan said the country had the capacity to produce 2.6 million tonnes of biofuel annually but that demand had completely dried up. Read the rest of this entry »

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