Soy product futures ended higher across the board, with soyoil recouping some product share value versus soymeal on spreads. A bounce in crude oil futures provided support to soyoil, analysts said. Soymeal ended higher, garnering strength from firmer soybean futures. December soyoil settled 0.72 cent or 1.8% higher at 40.80 cents per pound. December soymeal ended $1.20 or 0.4% higher at $299.50 per short ton. (Source: CME)
Indonesia 2010 CPO Output May Fall 10%-15% -Association (Source: CME)
Crude palm oil output in Indonesia, the world's largest producer, may drop 10%-15% this year as abnormal weather patterns sap yields and heavy rainfall disrupts harvesting, a senior industry official said Friday. Output may fall to between 18 million and 19 million metric tons from 20.6 million tons last year, Indonesian Palm Oil Association Executive Director Fadhil Hasan said by phone. A decrease in Indonesian CPO output would likely boost prices of the commodity, as bouts of bad weather in key oilseed-growing regions including Russia, Ukraine and parts of Europe have also crimped global supply of oilseeds such as rapeseed.
Hasan said palm oil exports rose 5.3% last month to 1.19 million tons, with the bulk of shipments to India, China and Bangladesh. Indonesia exported 1.13 million tons of palm oil in June. Rupiah-denominated October CPO futures on the Indonesia Commodity and Derivative Exchange were 0.5% higher at IDR7,445 a kilogram. Dorab Mistry, an influential vegetable oils analyst, said Thursday evening that Indonesian CPO production will rise at a slower pace this year because expansion of plantation lands in the country has slowed. He revised his forecast for growth to 500,000 tons from 1 million tons for 2010. Indonesia produced 20.6 million tons of CPO in 2009, according to the Indonesian Palm Oil Association.
Mistry reiterated his forecast for Malaysian crude palm oil output this year, saying that an El Nino-related dry spell late last year will likely cut production by 2.3% to around 17.2 million tons, as the two-month dry spell caused tree stress and lowered crop yields. Indonesia and Malaysia combined account for 85% of the world's palm oil production.
New Britain Palm Oil Sees Prices Staying Buoyant (Source: CME)
Palm oil producer New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. Friday reported a 13% fall in first-half profit, skewed by changes in the accounting value of its trees, and said it expects prices for crude palm oil to remain buoyant due to short-term jitters about food supplies and rising consumption in the long term. The company, which operates in Papua New Guinea, said its average selling price during the first six months of the year was $792 a metric ton, compared with $730 a year earlier. However, prices recently spiked to $900 a ton due to concerns about food shortages caused by poor wheat harvests in Russia and Ukraine. There have also been concerns about supply shortages caused by production problems in Indonesia, a major producer of palm oil.
"Palm oil is in a very strong position," said New Britain Palm Oil Executive Director Alan Chaytor. He told Dow Jones Newswires demand for palm oil in the short term is buoyant and the medium-term outlook appears firm. He added longer-term demand for the commodity, which is used in many food products, is expected to keep rising as food consumption increases.
Palm up on supply squeeze, bullish outlook
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 0.5 percent on Friday on fears of a possible supply squeeze ahead of a Muslim festival and an upbeat price forecast by a top industry analyst.
Mainly Muslim Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's top palm oil producers, celebrate Eid Al-Fitr in mid-September after a month of fasting, which typically sees estate workers and millers take extended holidays.
Indonesian CPO futures may be used as benchmark -regulator
JAKARTA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indonesia's trade ministry may use a new palm oil futures contract traded on a local exchange as one of the benchmarks to calculate the monthly export tax applied on the commodity, a regulatory official said on Friday.
The Indonesia Commodity & Derivative Exchange (ICDX) launched the crude palm oil futures contract in May, in a bid to create a local price benchmark to rival Malaysia's.
India starts soymeal exports early on crop prospects
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - India kicked off soybean meal marketing early this year by selling 12,000 tonnes to Thailand, with competitive prices and prospects of bumper output making more such deals likely, traders said.
India, Asia's top soymeal exporter, may corner a bigger share of the market in 2011, pricing cargoes at competitive rates which pose a direct challenge to exports from South America and the United States.
Europe, Ramadan boost Indonesia's July palm exports
JAKARTA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indonesia's palm oil exports in July rose 9 percent from a year ago, driven by growth in orders from Europe after a drought sapped oilseed crops across the Black Sea region and Asian food demand rose ahead of a key religious observance.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) said on Thurday that rising demand from Bangladesh, the European Union and the U.S boosted palm oil exports from the world's No.1 producer to 1.19 million tonnes in July.
India in 1st new-crop soymeal deal, sells 12,000 T-traders
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - India has signed its first new-crop soybean meal export deal, selling 12,000 tonnes to Thailand this week for shipment in November and December, traders said on Friday.
The cargo was sold at $412 a tonne, including cost and freight. The harvest for the new crop will begin in October.
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Diversified commodities firm Olam International aims to boost production volume by 15-20 percent annually as it expands into upstream sugar and palm oil ventures, its chief executive said on Friday.
Group managing director and CEO Sunny Verghese said Olam was eyeing 10,000 hectares of sugar plantations in Indonesia, Brazil or Africa to set up a crushing plant with a yearly capacity of at least 2 million tonnes.
