The Netherlands will be pushing for the lifting of European Union (EU) import duties on sustainably produced crude palm oil at the European Commission in Brussels. This was announced by its Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Maxime Verhagen late last year as he wanted the EU import tariffs for sustainable palm oil to be lowered compared with conventionally produced palm oil as early as possible. He presented this proposal in Brussels as part of the recent negotiations of the EU with Malaysia over a free trade agreement, according to Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) in a statement. Matrade notes, however, that the recommendation would cover only sustainable palm oil, with higher import duties to remain for other non-sustainable produce. (Starbiz)
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is confident the biogas project being explored by the plantation sector in the state can create a positive image for the oil palm industry. He said that it would be seen as an environment-friendly industry which gave serious consideration to the protection of the environment. He said the technology for biogas production from oil palm waste was not just environment-friendly but it also helped in the electricity generation for the plants. (Bernama)
Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soybean futures ended higher, continuing to draw support from smaller South American crop forecasts. The smaller crop outlook fuels speculation of increased US demand that will lead to a tighter US soy balance sheet out through 2013, analysts say. The need to keep soybean prices competitive with corn to entice farmers to maintain adequate US soybean acres added support for prices as well, analysts say. CBOT May soybeans ended up 2 1/2c at $13.22 1/2/bushel.
Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
Soy-product futures end mixed as traders continue to take profits on long soyoil/short soymeal spreads. Soymeal rose to 5-month highs, buoyed by concerns that smaller South American soy production will generate fresh demand, but lower-than-expected weekly export sales limited gains, analysts note. CBOT May soymeal rose $2.60 to $355.50/short ton while May soyoil dropped 0.20c to 54.27c/pound.
Palm oil eases on weak Malaysian exports
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell , as export trends pointed to weaker demand, although losses were capped by positive factory data from second-largest palm oil importer China. "Exports are slightly negative because it suggests demand remains relatively weak, but it could be because we have fewer working days in February," said Ivy Ng, an analyst with Malaysia's CIMB Investment Bank.
Singapore's Indofood Agri eyes palm oil, rubber, sugar assets
SINGAPORE, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Singapore-listed palm oil firm Indofood Agri Resources will set aside $200 million to buy palm oil, rubber and sugar assets outside Indonesia, where it currently has a big presence, as it looks to diversify future profits, a top official said.
Indofood Agri has a quarter of a million hectares of oil palm estates as well as refineries in Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer. It also has rubber plantations and sugar mills in the southeast Asian country.
Investors in Malaysia may shift palm refining ops to Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Foreign investors in Malaysia may shift some existing palm oil refining operations to top producer Indonesia to tap higher margins after Jakarta lowered its processed edible oil export taxes, said a top Malaysian industry official.
That may put Malaysia's over $20 billion industry in jeopardy as foreign investors and smaller palm oil refiners process 60 percent of the country's output, said Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM) Chief Executive Mohammad Jaaffar Ahmad.
China palm oil stocks at nearly 1 mln tonnes, more imports eyed-Reuters survey
Today 18:34 By Chew Yee Kiat
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - China's palm oil stocks probably rose to nearly a million tonnes in February with a further build-up seen as traders keep buying cargoes from Malaysia and Indonesia on concern over strengthening prices, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday. Stocks in the world's No.2 consumer of the tropical oil probably rose to 950,000 tonnes over eight months -- more than double the usual 400,000 tonnes -- according to a median survey of five Chinese and Singaporean trading houses polled ahead of the Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil Conference next week. China's February imports of palm oil probably stood at 400,000 tonnes, 9.7 percent lower than 443,241 tonnes in January although these levels still reflected strong demand, the poll respondents said. Palm oil demand has remained robust on the back of re-stocking after the Lunar New Year festival in January and survey respondents said that it could go higher as Chinese importers want to lock in cargoes before prices rise further.
One survey respondent said stocks may go up to 1.5 million tonnes before imports start to slow as China has the capacity to store the edible oil. Higher palm oil stock levels also make it easier to stabilise edible oil prices in the country where inflation has hit a three-month high in January. China is stocking up not only on palm oil but other commodities such as soybean oil and copper, the respondent added. The country does not release official figures on stock levels. China imported around 250,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia and 185,000 tonnes from Indonesia in January, Reuters calculations on China's customs data showed.
FACTORS TO WATCH:
Resilient China demand may lead to better Malaysian export numbers in March. In February exports declined about 10 percent, cargo surveyors data showed, initially sparking fears that Asian demand for the edible oil might be slowing.
MARKET REACTION:
The palm oil market may rally in March if China is snapping up more cargoes with the prices probably staying well above 3,200 ringgit ($1,000). In February alone, the market rose more than six percent on soaring crude prices.
VEGOILS-Palm oil edges up; weak Malaysia exports cap gains DBYU2 FCPOc3 - RTRS
By Chew Yee Kiat
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up on Thursday, spurred by positive factory data from second-largest importer China but gains were capped as export trends showed weaker demand. Malaysian export numbers eased in February, cutting palm oil gains to 3.4 percent so far this year. Some market players attributed the lower exports to a shift in orders to top producer Indonesia, which slashed export taxes for refined products. "Exports are slightly negative because it suggests demand remains relatively weak, but it could be because we have fewer working days in February," said Ivy Ng, an analyst with Malaysia's CIMB Investment Bank. "It also may be because logistics have not been smooth due to the holiday season. It could also imply that demand has been shifting to Indonesia because of the favourable tax structure there."
Benchmark May palm oil futures FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 0.5 percent to close at 3,285 ringgit ($1,095) per tonne. Traded volumes stood at 20,170 lots of 25 tonnes each, thinner than the usual 25,000 lots. Malaysian palm oil exports for February eased 10.5 percent from a month earlier , cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a similar downward trend, saying exports dropped 9.5 percent from January. Market players expect February stock levels to be flat or end higher as exports seem to be slowing at a faster pace than production in second-largest palm oil producer Malaysia. Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said palm oil would fall to 3,212 ringgit per tonne, as indicated by a Fibonacci retracement. Oil rose above $123 a barrel on Thursday as signs of economic growth in China and the United States bolstered the demand outlook and concern persisted about supply disruption from Iran.
In other vegetable oil markets, the U.S. soyoil contract for March delivery BOH2 was flat in Asian trade and the most active September 2012 soyoil contract DBYU2 on China's Dalian Commodity exchange lost 1.1 percent.
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