PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has overtaken Indonesia to become the biggest crude palm oil exporter to India, with exports surging to 2.42 million tonnes since November.
Reuters reports that Indonesia’s palm oil shipments to India fell 32% to two million tonnes in the same period.
The drop in exports to India follows the republic’s decision to impose higher levies on crude palm oil exports in December.
This was done to raise funds for its palm-based biodiesel programme, aimed at maximising domestic use of the edible oil.
Malaysian planters were benefitting from Indonesian export levies, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India executive director BV Mehta told Reuters.
“They are gaining market share by offering palm oil at a discount over Indonesian suppliers,” the international news agency quoted him as saying.
Indonesia charged duty and levies of US$438 per tonne on palm oil shipments this month, while Malaysia’s “was nearly US$90”.
Sunvin Group head of research Anilkumar Bagani said this allowed Malaysian exporters to offer palm oil at a substantial discount even after retaining healthy margins.
Sunvin Group is a vegetable oil broker based in Mumbai.
However, Sandeep Singh, the director of Kuala Lumpur-based consulting and trading firm, The Farm Trade, said Indonesia could regain the market share as it was set to reduce export levies.
Just over two years ago, India had considered a boycott of Malaysian palm oil after a feud over then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statements over India’s involvement in Kashmir. - FMT
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