KARACHI (May 10 2003) : A delegation of the Pakistan Coconut and Oil PalmPlantation Society headed by its chairman Kaukab Iqbal met Sindh ChiefSecretary K.B. Rind here on Friday.

BOMBAY (May 10 2003) : India's Finance Ministry said it has not reducedthe base import price of crude soyabean oil, calling a notification onsome private Internet sites as fake.

AMSTERDAM (May 09 2003) - The premium for nearby European rapeseed oilcontracts is expected to unwind over the next several weeks as demandturns out to be less than expected, traders said on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD (May 09 2003) : The Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association(PVMA) on Thursday said that the ghee industry was on the brink ofcollapse because of a number of irritants, which forced shut down of 30mills and the rest may follow if remedial measures were not taken in thenext annual budget.

Jakarta, April 30 (Dow Jones) - Palm oil could make up 65% of the $167million in commodities Indonesia will export to Russia as part of acounter-trade agreement, Derom Bangun, chairman of the Indonesian Palm OilProducers' Association, or Gapki, said Wednesday.

KARACHI (May 09 2003) - Government of Sindh plans to set up a Palm Oil &Coconut Research & Development Station to promote its production in thecoastal areas of the province.

Monday, May 05, 2003 - MALAYSIAN palm oil refineries will be able tocompete on a better playing field with other oil seeds in India followingthe Indian government's decision to reduce the tariff on refined, bleachedand deodorised (RBD) palm oil and palm olein, said Malaysian Palm OilAssociation (MPOA) chief executive M.R. Chandran.

Jakarta, May 7 (Dow Jones) - Indonesia's government and private industryhave jointly formed a commission to help generate reliable data on thecountry's palm oil industry as well lay the foundation for a palm oil boardexpected to begin operations in the next six months, the chairwoman of theIndonesian Palm Oil Commission said late Tuesday.Speaking at the launch of the commission, Delima Hasri Azahari said sheexpects the body to help lend some certainty to the palm oil market.Delima said there is a lack of reliable data on palm oil in the areasofdomestic production, consumption, exports and stocks. "We will startcollecting and releasing official data in the future."She said the newly formed commission is made up of 20 governmentofficialsand members of palm oil associations. It will report to the Minister ofAgriculture.Delima said palm oil associations represented in the commission includethe Indonesian Palm Oil Producers' Association, or Gapki, the Palm OilGrowers' Association, the Edible Oil Association of Indonesia and the OilPalmResearch Institute.The government is also planning to set up a palm oil board in the nextsixmonths, she said.In Malaysia, the largest producer and exporter of palm oil in theworld,the state-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board acts as the central agencyspearheadingthe development of the industry as well as disseminating information onproduction, exports and stocks.Indonesia, the second largest producer of palm oil, is a closecompetitorto Malaysia and is fast catching up because of abundant availability oflandand cheap labor.Indonesia's palm oil output is expected to reach 9.6 million tons in2003,up from around 9 million tons last year, according to data from Gapki.Malaysia produced 11.9 million tons of crude palm oil last year.

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - THE local palm oil industry, with the assistanceof the Malaysian government, will be taking steps to counter the risinganti-palm oil and anti-tropical oil sentiment in northern Europe similarto the smear campaign by the American Soybean Association (ASA) in thelate 1980s.

5/5/2003 - MALAYSIA has an advantage over Indonesia to capitalise on India’s reduction of basic import duty on processed palm oil.