For week ending Oct. 18, 2007

       We have made a few changes at Cocohouse in that the various UCAP sector members take turns in hosting the event. As host, the sector takes care of inviting the guest speaker and topic to be discussed, may suggest a venue, and invite guests. The UCAP Secretariat coordinates with the host sector in the preparations. This month’s host is the Philippine Coconut Research & Development Foundation.

       The tournament is sponsored by the following: Gold Sponsors - Hudson Tank Terminals Corp. (hole no. 18); Transeaboard (hole no. 10); Peter Cremer (S) GmbH (hole no. 9); Concordia Agritrading Pte. Ltd. (hole no. 1). Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group is Silver Sponsor. The following are Donors: Climate Change (C3 Philippines) Corp., Dumaguete Coconut Mills, Tantuco Enterprises, Raco Commodities. The tournament goodie bags will have products from International Oil Factory, Limketkai Manufacturing Corp., and San Pablo Manufacturing Corp. Sponsors and donors are still welcome.

       Germany was the fourth largest importer and the number one buyer of Sri Lankan desiccated coconut in Europe during the period. Total delivery at 2,250 MT rocketed by 130.8% from just 975 MT in the prior year. Other European countries that showed marked increments in volume traded were Netherlands from 277 MT to 1,077 MT (+288.8%) and Turkey from 665 MT to 1,341 MT (+101.7%). Pakistan ranked fifth taking in 2,077 MT to record a substantial 83.5% growth from 1,049 MT earlier.

       Cumulative January-August figure stood at 356,000 MT, an appreciable improvement by 27.2% from a comparable year-ago period total at 279,900 MT. Palm kernel oil was 266,400 MT (146,100 MT) and coconut was 89,700 MT (133,800 MT). Total import from the Philippines during the eight-month period tallied 5,400 MT of coconut oil, a huge cut by 75.9% from 22,400 MT at the same time last year.

       According to data from the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEAI), India imported 446,721 MT of edible oils in September this year, increasing by 22.8% from 363,569 MT in the same month last year. Volume of palm oil import dropped during month while that of soybean oil increased. Crude palm oil purchases declined by 7.5% to 246,400 MT from 266,433 MT; soya oil uptake jumped by 139.2% to 179,366 MT from 74,990 MT in the same month last year. Total edible oil imports for the 11-month period ending September 2007 reached 4.214 million MT to record an increment of 11.5% over similar year-earlier period data at 3.780 million MT.

       Russian agricultural agency SovEcon has revised downward the country’s sunflower seed crop forecasts this year to 5.1-5.4 million MT from 5.3-5.8 million MT previously. The figure is a considerable drop from prior year harvest of 6.75 million MT. The drop in expected harvest was due to a decline in sown area and a summer drought. The area sown with sunflower seeds declined by about 15% in 2007 to 5.26 million hectares from 6.17 million hectares in the prior year. The expected shortfall in production may force the government to implement measures to lessen sunflower oil exports and curb rising domestic prices.

       The study has implications for the plant sterols/stanols market since, while some low-fat and non-fat foods containing PS are commercially available, some studies have suggested that the cholesterol-lowering activity is reduced in such formats. Phytosterols, cholesterol-like molecules derived from plants, are increasingly well known to consumers due to their scientifically proven ability to reduce cholesterol levels. As consumer awareness has increased the number of products containing plant sterols or plants stanols and their esters has increased.

       The Indonesian government has issued policies for the sustainable development of the palm oil industry for the welfare of the people and without destroying the environment. The government was committed to the implementation of sustainable development through the Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil Program (RSPO), reduction of CO2 gas emissions, good agriculture practices, and tropical rain forest protection.

       Producing biofuels is generally an energy-intensive business, which itself makes use of considerable quantities of fossil fuels. As a result, the study said, the overall saving of fossil fuels brought by biofuels may be low, and introducing carbon or pollution taxes may prove more effective. Generally, biofuels made from high-sugar crops or recycled cooking oil can contribute to higher savings on fossil fuels than those made from oilseeds or grains. More than 90 percent of the 6 million metric tons of biofuels produced in the EU during 2006 was made from rapeseed oil.