Malaysia aims to resolve palm oil spat with India within a month
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has set itself a target of a month within which to resolve its trade dispute with India over palm oil, the South-east Asian nation's new commodities minister said on Wednesday.
The deadline follows this week's swearing-in of a new Malaysian Cabinet after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took office last month.
"One of the first moves for the new government is to rebuild the relationship with India, especially for the palm oil issue," Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali told reporters after the first meeting of the new Cabinet.
India, the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil for five years, put curbs in January on purchases, in retaliation for then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's criticism of its policy on the Himalayan region of Kashmir and a new citizenship law.
Mr Mohd Khairuddin said he wanted to send a delegation to India as soon as possible in the effort to improve ties.
"We will put this on the ministry's first agenda," he told reporters. "I set a timeframe of a month."
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.
Malaysia, the second biggest producer of crude palm oil after Indonesia, will look to expand its exports to new markets, such as Russia and the Middle East, he added.
After India's January curbs on imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia, traders had also held off on buying its crude palm oil.
Malaysia's exports to India dropped 54 per cent last month from January, data showed this week.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Energy & Commodities
Seatrium unit to fully redeem S$500 million worth of floating-rate bonds early
Anglo rejects BHP takeover bid as significantly undervalued
India rice prices at three-month low on shrinking demand
Gold prices set for weekly decline ahead of US inflation data
Pricey coffee is here to stay as hoarding, heat hit Vietnam supply
Oil settles higher as weak US economic growth offset by supply concerns