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Soyabean In order to boost the domestic supply, state-run trading company PEC Ltd has invited bids to import 24,000 tons of crude degummed soyabean oil to be delivered in June. The bids would close on May 12 and the decision on the tender would be taken on the same day, the company said on its website. The government recently decided to import one million tons of edible oil during 2008-09 fiscal via state trading agencies -- MMTC, PEC, STC and Nafed -- to supply oil to people through the public distribution system. So far, MMTC and STC have floated tenders to buy 44,000 tons and 24,000 tons of edible oil respectively from overseas market. PEC said that it plans to import crude degummed soyabean oil from Argentina and Brazil. "It is importing on behalf of itself, PEC, State Trading Corporation, and National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation (NAFED)," it said. According to the tender, the bidder should deliver 12,000 tons of edible oil at Kandla and Mundra ports, while another 12,000 tons at Kakinada between June 1-30. "Bidders should bid for the entire quantity and they can also quote for additional quantity", the company added.

agriculture stocks Most agricultural-related stocks traded higher in the wake of the Senate's passage of the farm bill by a veto-proof majority. Ethanol-related shares stood out from the pack, with Aventine Renewable Energy wing earnings-induced selling pressure on were a standout, rising nearly 3% following earnings-induced selling pressure on Wednesday. Navistar Internatonal also gained, up more than 1%. Similar gains also were scored by Bunge Ltd. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and CF Industries Holdings a supplier of crop nutrients, traded 2% higher.Wednesday.

vegetable packing A happy beast makes a delicious dinner – so how can you be sure your meat is top notch? Nick Nairn spills the beans in our third exclusive extract from his new bookA GREAT piece of beef gets me pretty close to culinary Nirvana. I'm not the only one with this passion – demand for meat has shot up around the world since the 1950s, an appetite influenced by our growing affluence and the ready availability of a product that provides us with a wonderfully flavoursome source of protein. The big issue with all this demand, however, is that it puts pressure on farmers to increase their supply. As they cut costs, so the process becomes intensified, and more animals end up on the conveyor belt of factory farming, producing meat that's certainly cheap, but also tough and, let's face it, pretty tasteless. But there's still top-quality meat to be had, though you'll see that, as with all sectors of the food industry, the market has been split in three. At the top end, the prime motivator of production is quality, and you'll find happy, healthy beasts living a full life, facing a calm slaughter and undergoing a proper hanging and butchering process. In the middle, quality is balanced with cost, and the animals will undergo some sort of intensive process, living shorter lives, eating high-energy feeds and moving more quickly through the slaughter process. At the bottom end, cost is the only motivator, and you get into the dark and disturbing areas of mechanically recovered meat, and imports from countries with potentially dodgy practices. The vast majority of the meat we eat will have come from the middle sector, which can still produce something rather wonderful. But if you're looking for quality, let's concentrate on the best. It's what I would recommend for the roast sirloin (recipe overleaf). Try it with my red-wine gravy and Yorkshire puddings and you'll see what I mean.

Salted Vegetables ote: You can have your butcher cut the chicken into 8 pieces (excluding the wings, which you can reserve for another use, such as making stock). 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons good-quality olive oil 2 medium leeks, white part only, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4 -inch slices (about 1 cup) 1 medium fennel bulb, cut crosswise into 1/4 -inch slices 3 cloves green garlic, thinly sliced 1 large sprig fresh rosemary 8 small spring onions, whole with about 2 inches of greens 8 baby carrots (assorted colors), scrubbed and halved lengthwise 1 cup fava beans, shelled 1 cup sugar snap or English peas, shelled 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 1. Quarter the chicken, removing the wings and the back (you can reserve these for making stock) and keeping the bones intact. Cut the thighs from the legs and cut the breasts in half through the ribs; you will have eight pieces. Pat the chicken dry, then season with salt and pepper. 2. Heat the oil in a 6-quart heavy-bottom lidded casserole and brown the chicken pieces over medium-high heat, turning them over so that they brown evenly, about 15 minutes. 3. Remove and reserve the chicken. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of excess oil from the pan. Add the leeks, fennel, garlic, rosemary and spring onions and sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes. 4. Return the chicken to the pan, along with any accumulated juices, and add 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook until the chicken is done, about 20 minutes. Stir in the carrots during the last 15 minutes of cooking. 5. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the favas for 1 minute then cool in an ice bath. Drain and then peel. Set aside. 6. When the chicken is cooked, remove the pieces and keep warm. Discard the rosemary. Add the peas and simmer uncovered for about a minute over medium-low heat. 7. To finish, add the favas, half of the parsley and yogurt to the pan of vegetables and broth, stirring to combine. Check for seasoning. To serve, spoon two pieces of chicken into the middle of each soup plate, then ladle the vegetables and broth around the chicken. Top with the remaining fresh parsley. Each serving: 640 calories; 60 grams protein; 25 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams fiber; 33 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 213 mg. cholesterol; 800 mg. sodium.
2008-05-20 15:23:35

Harvester Parts Last year's much talked about move to full-mechanisation agriculture in both China and India could soon be trumped by the sleeping giant markets of Russia and its immediate central European neighbours. The implications for Australia producers are significant because these new boys on the sales block could siphon-off much needed broadacre equipment that otherwise would have been heading our way. Nowhere is the demand greater than in the newly-emerged coalition of the Commonwealth of Independent States where the untapped scale of their rural enterprises is quickly being realised. This blossoming of the Russia farm equipment market was recently acknowledged by Claas executive, Cathrina Claas, when visiting Melbourne where she told of the "huge demand" within the old Soviet Union, starting in the late 1990s and accelerating rapidly since 2000. "The numbers have increased annually by double-digit figures and they have tripled in the last three years," Ms Claas said. "The acreages are enormous and there's been a wave of investment." All this means that Australian farmers must address the issue of forward ordering of new equipment much more seriously than has previously been the case. Only recently, Case IH signalled an "outstanding" 2007 trading year in Ukraine, noting that 165 of its machines had been earmarked for delivery in January of this year. Meanwhile, Deere & Co has signed an agreement with the Russian government and local authorities to invest approximately $US80m in a central operations centre which includes a distribution, replacement parts and training facility in the Kaluga region, 38 miles southwest of Moscow. "We believe this is one of the largest single investment projects of a non-Russian farm and forestry equipment manufacturer in Russia," Deere & Co chairman and chief executive officer, Robert lane said. Interestingly, the action is not all internal, as evidenced by the country's biggest combine harvester manufacturer, Rostselmash, which recently took over the former high horsepower Canadian tractor maker, Buhler.

fresh preserved vegetable Boston’s push to become a U.S. leader in the burgeoning “green” building movement is taking a huge step forward with plans to start building the nation’s first “zero-energy” multi-unit residential complex in South Boston by early next year. The project, on the site of The Distillery artists loft building in South Boston at 516 E. Second St., would have 65 to 70 new units that generate all their power on-site by burning wood chips or vegetable oil. The project is getting exposure at the national American Institute of Architects convention, which began yesterday in the Hub. “This is a huge thing in Europe and now we’re bringing it to the United States,” said developer Fred Gordon, who owns the Distillery building, which will be preserved. “What Boston is doing with green design is impressive, going beyond its parochialism and bringing in the real experts from around the world,” said Hubert Murray, a Hub architect and past Boston Society of Architects president. He is a consultant on the Southie project, which is being designed by Next Phase Studios, a young Boston firm with green design experience on the well-regarded Genzyme headquarters building. The zero-energy project is happening as city officials outlined Boston’s first-in-the-nation “green” zoning code yesterday to a packed house at the AIA convention. “Other cities are looking to us as a model and want to emulate what we’ve done,” said Kairos Shen, director of planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, one of the presenters at the AIA forum. Boston’s green zoning code, enacted last year, requires that projects larger than 50,000 square feet be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifiable and offers green building credits for energy savings, historic preservation, groundwater conservation and for transit-pass plans and car-sharing and bike facilities. Zero-energy or “carbon neutral” buildings far exceed energy savings now required by the city. LEED standards can save up to 30 percent of energy use. The South Boston project’s “passive house” technology involves completely sealing and insulating housing units and using ventilators for heat recovery and fresh air.

Wood Shoes Instead of throwing out the old shoes that are cluttering your closet, bring them to Niketown ub Waikiki between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. today and take part in the 3rd Annual Nike Reuse-A-Shoe campaign.Donating shoes today is a triple bonus: The recycled shoes will be made into sports fields and equipment for keiki; donating the shoes means less trash heading to the landfill; Nike will be giving discounts on new shoes to those who donate to the Reuse-A-Shoe campaign."Our goal is 30,000 pairs of shoes this year," says Mona Wood, project coordinator for the campaign.Schools collecting the most shoes and delivering them today will win a Nike Equipment Package.Also today, there is a public "Creative Kicks" contest for turning an old athletic shoe into a work of art. Creations will be accepted before noon, and three winners will be selected for various age divisions. Winners will win a new pair of Nike shoes from Niketown.Free parking is offered in the Niketown garage, and there is a drop-off area on Kalaimoku Street next to Niketown for those wanting to donate but who don't have time to drop in.

Waist Belts Waist restraints for prisoners during transport are being installed in prison van in a move designed to reduce assaults and escapes.The Department of Corrections started testing restraints last year following criticism of transport security after the murder of 17-year-old Liam Ashley in August 2006.Liam's killer, George Charlie Baker, strangled him and stomped on his head in a van taking them to Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden.The death resulted in a damning Ombudsmen's report on prisoner transport.The department's chief custodial adviser, Bryan McMurray, said the nationwide installation had begun in the central region.He said Corrections was committed to "safety, securely and humanely transporting prisoners".The restraints reduced the ability of prisoners to assault each other by securing their arms to a belt around their waist."Waist restraints also protect the safety of the public by further reducing the possibility of escape," Mr McMurray said.Prisoners would wear them at all times while being transported unless there was a good reason not to.Exclusions would be given to pregnant women, medically exempt prisoners or those travelling in a compartment on their own.Mr McMurray said the department had contracted New Zealand manufacturer Black Scorpion to supply the restraints, after a rigorous trial at three prisons.During the trial some minor faults were found but modifications had been made before the restraints were bought.The installation programme would continue in the southern and northern regions on May 5 and 12.The department's vehicle standards were also being reviewed to see what other solutions were available to address the issue of prisoner assaults."Waist restraints have been implemented because they provide an immediate response to the threat of prisoners assaulting each other," Mr McMurray said.Implementing the restraints, including necessary modifications to vehicles, had cost about $1 million.To implement all the recommendations in the Ombudsmen's report could cost up to $30 million, it was revealed last year.Chief Ombudsman John Belgrave and fellow ombudsman Mel Smith found the majority of prisoner transport in New Zealand was "inhumane".Their report, made public in June, recommended sweeping changes to the was prsoners were transported.It also recommended policy changes to improve consistency throughout the country's prisons and between police, Corrections and its contractor.The Government responded by saying it would implement all the recommendations.It also said it would intoduce waist restraints, which were not recommended in the report.

Palm Acid Oil KARACHI: Experts from the University of Sindh have found that ten margarine brands of Pakistan contained alarmingly high amounts of trans and saturated fatty acids which are linked with heart disease. The findings appeared in an article ‘GC-MS quantification of fatty acid profile including trans FA in the locally manufactured margarines of Pakistan’ in the international journal of Food Chemistry (Volume 109, Issue 1, 1 July 2008). Margarine is a butter-like product obtained from mixtures of various edible fats and oils. It usually contains appropriate ratios of hard vegetable fats from coconut, palm kernel, vegetable oils and/or hydrogenated vegetable oils. In the manufacturing process, some natural fatty Palm Acid Oil are destroyed and new artificial trans isomers are produced that behave similar to saturated fats. As a result of the economic dislocations during World War II, margarine production rose rapidly as a replacement for butter. During the 1960s margarine became viewed as the healthy alternative to butter because it was comparatively lower in saturated fat. Margarine at that time was heavily hydrogenated and was widespread in the food supply as the major source of industrially produced TFA. But then the incidence of coronary heart disease deaths tracked fairly closely with those of trans fatty acid intake over time. Angina and myocardial infarction were unusual in the early part of the 1900s, but coronary heart disease increased rapidly and became the major cause of death by the mid-twentieth century. Rates peaked in the period from 1950–1960, and mortality has gone down by about 50% since that time. Thus, changes in TFA intake correspond roughly with the epidemic of coronary heart disease. Therefore apprehension in trans-fatty acids originates from their association with coronary heart disease. Studies have provided unequivocal evidence that trans fatty acids increase concentrations of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol and reduce concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or ‘good’ cholesterol. Studies also indicated that TFA raise lipoprotein levels, an independent inherited factor of coronary heart diseases. Ten margarine brands of Pakistan were analyzed for their fatty acid composition with emphasis on trans fatty acids. Among the saturated fatty acids, palmitic acid (up to 33.8%) was dominant in all analyzed margarine brands, indicating that palm oil was a major contributor in the margarine manufacturing. Among samples tested only one contained a low level of trans fatty acid (2.2%) while the rest contained very high amounts of up to 34.8% which clearly shows that hydrogenated oils were used to make the margarines. Fatty acid profiles demonstrated that all samples belong to the hard margarine category containing high amounts of trans and saturated fatty acids which is an alarming issue for the health of consumers. None of the analyzed samples showed less than 2% trans fatty acids, while data from other countries indicate that each study contained few margarine samples in which there were no TFA or less than one percent TFA. A higher content of TFA shows that margarine manufacturers are not serious about reducing the trans content in their product and are still using conventional technology. These results also indicate that there is great variation in the quality of local commercially available brands and not even two margarine samples had similar fatty acid profiles. Furthermore the amount of trans fat was not mentioned on the label of any local manufactured margarine brands.

Working Garment Eirik Glenne, Norway’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) visited Thai Tuan Company, one of Vietnam’s leading textile and garment companies, last week while on a trip to study the Vietnamese market.Glenne said Thai Tuan’s tireless efforts to expand exports in recent years were impressive.The company, established in 1993, produces over 12 million meters of fabric per year and earns revenues of around US$30 million, with half that figure coming from exports to the US, the Middle East and ASEAN member-countries.Glenne, former chairman of the Working Party on Vietnam’s Accession to the WTO, had given his support to Vietnam during negotiations for the country to join the organization last year.