ROTTERDAM (March 18, 2010): Wednesday's Rotterdam vegetable oil prices at 1700 GMT.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 18, 2010): Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended up 1 percent on Wednesday on a technical rebound, after the market hit one-month lows the previous day, but a stronger ringgit curbed gains. Benchmark June crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 26 ringgit to 2,595 ringgit ($783.5) per tonne.

SYDNEY (March 18, 2010): US soyabean futures rose for the third straight session on Wednesday as the dollar continued to ease and traders worried about supplies from Brazil where logistic problems have slowed shipments.

NEW YORK (March 18, 2010): Raw sugar futures crumbled amid investor liquidation on Tuesday to end at a 7-1/2 month low, and brokers said the horrid technical outlook may lead to further losses this week. The May raw sugar contract slid 1.15 cents, or 5.93 percent, to finish at 18.24 cents per lb.

NEW DELHI (March 18, 2010): India's rice purchases from farmers have fallen 2.4 percent since October, when the current marketing year began, the government said in a statement on Wednesday. Purchases between October 1 and March 16 were at 24.3 million tonnes, down from 24.9 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier, it said.

CHICAGO (March 18, 2010): US rice futures closed higher on Tuesday on short-covering after the decline of rice futures to nearly a one-year low late last week and on a weak dollar. CBOT May up 12 cents per cwt at $12.60-1/2. Falling rice prices may draw buyers to the table.

BANGKOK (March 18, 2010): Rice prices in Thailand, the world's biggest exporter, slipped on Wednesday but price-support measures are likely to prevent big falls this month, while prices in number two exporter Vietnam held steady.

CHICAGO (March 18, 2010): May wheat was up 8 cents per bushel at $4.91 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade early on Wednesday and May soya was up 6-1/4 at $9.51-1/4 on technical short-covering and fund buying in thin dealings, traders said. May soyameal up $2.20 per ton at $263.70. May soyaoil up 0.10 cent per lb at 39.47.

NEW YORK (March 18, 2010): Raw sugar futures on ICE edged up early on Wednesday, aided by a soft dollar and firmer oil prices, although the market still held around Monday's 7-1/2-month low. A European broker, in a daily market report, noted rising concerns over drought in China's sugar-producing belt in Guangxi.

LONDON (March 18, 2010): May white sugar closed up $0.10 at $521.5 per tonne on Wednesday. Dealers focused on signs of a revival in physical offtake after a recent slide to six-month lows. May cocoa on Liffe ended 17 pounds higher at 2,200 pounds a tonne. Dealers talked of expectations of good-sized mid crop harvests in leading West African producers from April.