Malaysia to suspend export tax on palm oil for three months

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, will suspend export taxes on crude palm oil for a three-month period starting on Jan 8 to boost prices, a government minister said on Friday.

The export tax suspension will be lifted before the three-month period if crude palm oil stocks fall to 1.6 million tonnes, Malaysia's minister of plantation industries and commodities Mah Siew Keong said at a press conference.

"(The scheme) is one of the short-term pre-emptive measures by the government to manage the fall in crude palm oil prices, so that the smallholders' income are not impacted and the country's oil palm industry continues to be competitive," said Mr Mah.

REUTERS