For week ending October 08

        It was gathered that the member-producers aimed to increase the income of oil palm growers and alleviate poverty in general by developing more potential areas for palm oil production as well as building strong partnership among stakeholders. It was mentioned that a hectare of oil palm plantation can produce between 4.0 to 5.5 tons of crude palm oil which is five to ten times greater that the yield of any commercially known oil crop. It was observed by Caraga region business analysts that palm oil industry is the ?sunrise? industry in the region. Big companies and individual growers are now into oil palm plantation because of its high return.

       Spot prices for desiccated coconut from both Indonesia and the Philippines have already advanced by $40 to $50 a ton, and are projected to easily rise by another $25 to $50 a ton in the coming weeks. Philippine exporters have been offering only for November or December positions and are unwilling to commit anything for January or later. As a result, it is very difficult to gauge the likely price of produce for shipment in 2010, Mr. Maarleveld explained. Indonesia is adopting the same stance, having only just recommenced production after several weeks of festival holidays. Sri Lanka is able to offer, but its prices remain too high to be a viable option and Vietnam is still only a minor producer and not having much impact on the situation, Mr. Maarleveld claimed.

       EDA Secretary General Joop Kleibeuker urged decision makers to be wary about generalizing when formulating policy on saturated fat explaining that not all saturated fats are the same and that some short chain fatty acids are known to actually reduce cholesterol. Talking specifically about dairy products, he said they contain essential nutrients and that there is no evidence that they are injurious to health. The tax therefore would penalize dairy consumers without improving their health.

       Indonesia charges a minimum tax rate of 1.5% on crude palm oil exports if the reference price, which is the average spot CPO price in Rotterdam, stands at between $701 and $750 a ton. CPO prices in Rotterdam, Europe?s vegetable oils market, averaged $691.28 a ton in the preceding month, according to Diah Maulida, director general of foreign trade at the ministry.

       CTNBio, Brazil?s bio-security regulator has approved three new varieties of genetically modified (GM) maize. Two of the seeds were developed by Monsanto, the world?s largest seed company, and Syngenta, the world?s largest agrochemicals company. Both seeds have been engineered to resist pests and glyphosate-based herbicide. The third variety which was developed by Syngenta, has insect resistant properties only. With the new approvals, there are now nine GM maize varieties permitted for use in Brazil. According to agricultural consultants Celeres, about 30% of the seeds planted for Brazil?s 2009/10 summer maize crop will be one of these GM varieties.

       Olive oil demand continues to grow across the world due to its unique taste, premium quality and healthy profile. Marcaleo will produce private label olive oil using the highest quality raw materials, backed by the most advanced bottling practices and capabilities to serve Hojiblanca?s and Cargill?s customers. This plant is a sign of its parent companies goal to become leaders in both the European and worldwide private label olive oil markets. Together the two companies will provide clients with expertise on all aspects of the process, from the tree to table.

       New Zealand?s Green Party MP Jeanette Fitzsimons is the main proponent of a legislation seeking sustainability standard for biofuels. She said the standard for sustainability would rule out biofuels produced from foods and those that were made in ways that destroyed animal habitats. Under the proposed sustainable Biofuels Bill, biofuel sold in the country after May 1 next year can be approved as sustainable if it passes the three key criteria: 1) it must reduce greenhouse gas emissions over its life-cycle, compared with other fuels, 2) it must not compete for land with food production, 3) must not reduce indigenous biodiversity.

       According to their findings, both groups had similar body mass indexes (BMI) of between 21 and 22 kg/m2. Writing in the International Journal of Obesity, a journal published by the Nature group, the researchers report that the so-called weight loss maintainer (WLM) group consumed a diet that is about 5 percent lower in fat and three times more daily servings of artificially sweetened soft drinks, compared to the normal weight people. ?These findings suggest that WLM use more dietary strategies to accomplish their weight loss maintenance, including greater restriction on fat intake, use of fat- and sugar-modified foods, reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and increased consumption of artificially sweetened beverages,? Phelan said.

       Results show that despite good fat reduction of the AIR, the water-holding capacity, a measure of the succulence of the product, was poor. In contrast, the WSAIR exhibited good water-holding capacity as well as a reduction in the uptake of oil during frying. The addition of the carrot fiber improved both measures further. ?WSAIR could be utilized together with carrot fibers as additive in low fat meatballs, since it was able to improve the cooking properties of the product, by restricting the oil uptake and thereby giving rise to meatballs with sustained reduced fat content, ? Galanakis and co-workers wrote in the journal LWT-Food Science and Technology. ?A potential additive should not only improve the water-holding properties of the meatballs, but it should also provide palatability to the final product as fat, being replaced, often contribute to the taste of the product.?