ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and Malaysia inch closer further on bilateral economicfront after Indian restrictions.
Malaysia is keen to expand its palm oil trade with Pakistan after newrestrictions imposed by the Indian government on refined palm oil imports.This development comes in after India’s Directorate General of ForeignTrade (DGFT) announced restrictions on the import of refined palm oil andpalm olein.
“Pakistan is one of Malaysia’s most regular and dependable buyers of localpalm oil and products,” said the Malaysian Primary Industries MinisterTeresa Kok.——————————
The Malaysian Minister met Pakistan’s Adviser for Commerce, Textiles,Industry and Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, during anofficial visit to Pakistan.
According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Primary Industries inMalaysia, following the minister’s visit to Pakistan, “In 2018, Pakistanimported 1.16 million metric tons of palm oil from Malaysia valued atRM2.97 billion ($730 million). Avenues were discussed to further expandMalaysian palm oil share in this growing market.”
The Malaysian ministry said that Pakistan is among the first exportdestinations in which Malaysia has major investments in bulkinginstallation and refineries and the liquid cargo jetty dedicated for thehandling of palm oil.
Indian media reported that while the announcement was “notcountry-specific, but product-specific,” Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi’s government had “informally” requested palm oil refiners and tradersforgo Malaysian palm oil.
It is worth mentioning that India is the world’s biggest palm oil importerand in 2018 imported palm oil worth $3.8 billion from Indonesia, and $1.3billion from Malaysia. The Indian import controls came after remarks byMalaysian Prime Minister regarding India’s actions on Kashmir and the newcitizenship law last year.