Monday Edition

03.09.09

GLOBAL

Corn and soybeans may rise this week on speculation that demand for US crops will increase as the Argentine government refuses to lift export taxes, reducing sales by farmers and supplies for overseas buyers. Soybean CBOT futures for May delivery rose 1.8%, to $8.67 a bushel on Friday.

NORTH AMERICA

The Iowa Senate President is working to expand the use of biodiesel in the state by introducing a B5 mandate. The bill, which has both Republican and Democratic sponsors, will be considered first by the Senate Transportation Committee.

The Southeast Agriculture and Forestry Energy Resources (SAFER) Alliance and the University of Florida recently released the Southern Bioenergy Roadmap that outlines opportunities for the South to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil by harnessing bioenergy and creating thousands of new jobs.

SOUTH AMERICA

In Brazil, Cosan SA stock rose 3% Friday on news that Brazil’s BNDES state development bank will lend $1.1 billion to ethanol producers to stockpile the biofuel and help prevent prices from falling, the Agriculture Ministry said.

Leaders of Argentina’s four main farm groups, which are seeking to cut soybean export duties, plan to lobby opposition parties in Congress after talks with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner for an accord collapsed.

EUROPE

AIM listed Renewable Energy Holdings has announced its preliminary financial results for 2008 including a 38% increase in revenue to $7.36 million, and ending year cash balances of over $9 million.

Wales has announced a Bioenergy Action Plan aiming to generate 20% of current electricity needs from renewable biomass by 2020.

ASIA / PACIFIC

Malaysian palm oil sales to China in January-February totaled over 530k mt, up 43% from a year ago, while exports to India more than tripled to 293k mt in the period. China said last month it would import a record 5.3 million mt of palm oil this year.

Indian soyoil prices fell last week on fresh supplies of rapeseed in the local market and higher imports of edible oils, while palm oil prices rose on the back of stronger overseas markets. Farmers currently have 30% higher soybean stocks compared with a year earlier.

ABN Amro Asia Securities of Singapore said palm oil may average $650/mt this year, 14% higher than a November estimate, as demand from China and India help pare near-record stockpiles of the world's least expensive vegetable oil.

AFRICA

Mozambique has drafted a biofuels production plan after the state had received requests to open up more than five million ha of land to produce biodiesel from coconuts, sunflowers and jatropha, according to the Energy Minister.

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