Palm oil buyers said to delay purchases to get duty-free cargoes from Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S move to scrap its crude palm oil (CPO) export tax in May will likely prompt India and China, the biggest buyers of the edible oil, to delay purchases to next month to get cheaper cargoes, industry sources said on Thursday.

Malaysia's reduction of the export tax back to zero comes just as its biggest rival Indonesia, the top producer of the tropical oil, moves closer to laying on additional levies to its own palm exports to fund biodiesel subsidies and ambitious mandates rolled out earlier this year.