No need to worry about India's potential palm oil ban - Teresa

PARLIAMENT | There is no need for Malaysia to worry about the advice from India's Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) to "cease buying Malaysian palm oil,'' says Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

"We must know that India never (officially) said they wanted to boycott or ban the import of palm oil from Malaysia.

"The statement came from the association to advise its members to avoid purchasing from Malaysia for the time being," she said in Dewan Rakyat during the winding-up of the debate on Budget 2020.

Teresa said Putrajaya was taking measures to deal with the matter, for a start by initiating bilateral trade by announcing the increase in the import of raw sugar and buffalo meat from India.

"We continue our bilateral ties to improve the situation and assure the Indian government that we need to maintain our bilateral ties," she said.

Teresa said two Malaysian companies she met wanted to play a role to assist the government to strengthen bilateral trade.

"I looked at them as a positive sign," she said.

"In fact, I feel there is no need for us to worry about the sole statement from a trade association from India. We need to look at it from a macro perspective, and the boycott does not exist," she said.

At the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said India "invaded and occupied" Jammu and Kashmir and asked New Delhi to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.

The Indian government on Aug 5 revoked Jammu and Kashmir's legal autonomous status and imposed many unprecedented security measures, including cutting off Internet and phone services, to prevent protests in the region.

Reuters quoted Indian government and industry sources that India was planning to replace Malaysian palm oil with supplies of edible oils from countries like Indonesia, Argentina and Ukraine.

India is the biggest buyer of palm oil from Malaysia, which purchase close to 4.2 million metric tonnes of palm oil worth RM8.9 billion as of September this year.

This was an increase of 98.2 per cent of 2.11 million metric tonnes worth RM5.46 billion in the same period last year.

India, the world's largest vegetable oil importer, relies on Indonesia and Malaysia for its palm oil supply. - Mkini