Malaysia March crude palm oil export duty-free

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA has kept tax on exports of crude palm oil at zero for March, a government circular showed on Monday, extending a duty-free policy held since October.

The move, which is likely to underpin prices, comes as a surprise as Malaysia's plantation industries and commodities minister said last week the country was planning to resume taxing exports from March. The rate was scrapped from October to December, and later extended to end-February.

Malaysia calculated a reference price of RM2,232.88 per tonne for March crude palm oil, effectively incurring an export duty of zero per cent.

Increased global edible oil supplies and slowing demand have pressured palm oil prices which dropped 15 per cent last year. REUTERS