Archived News

MALAYSIAN-OWNED palm oil companies accused of being involved in open burning in Indonesia adopt sustainable cultivation and plantation practices, says Deputy Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar.

Malaysia and Pakistan need to agree upon on a new concessional list under the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as both countries, a Malaysian diplomat said on Wednesday.

The Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) says measures in Budget 2020 failed to meet most of the more urgent requests which are critical to the sustainability and development of the palm oil industry in Sarawak.

Malaysian palm oil futures rose over 1.5% on Wednesday after the government said it will import more products from top palm buyer India in a bid to mend relations following a row over Kashmir.

A potential restriction by India on palm oil imports from Malaysia will lead to higher stockpiles and lower crude palm oil prices here, CGS CIMB Research says.

Members of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch submitted a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, requesting the Union Government not to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement, with 15 countries.

Malaysia will work diplomatically with India if it decides to restrict imports of Malaysian palm oil, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency Bernama.

A palm oil industry watchdog will adopt rules next month that will impose fines on consumer goods companies like Unilever and Nestle if they don’t start buying more green palm oil to help curb deforestation in Southeast Asia, the regulating body said.

Head of the cooperative, Suparji, who goes by one name as is common in Indonesia, said the farmers were able to break new ground in yield and efficiency by partnering with agribusiness Cargill Tropical Palm, which owns palm oil plantations in several regencies of South Sumatra.

India, the world’s top palm oil buyer, is shunning purchases from Malaysia after the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister criticized its policy in Kashmir, sparking the latest trade spat in the region.

Malaysia’s proposal to increase its sugar and buffalo meat imports from India is not solely due to a reported campaign to boycott Malaysian palm oil by the country.

The food ministry is firming up a proposal to increase integrated GST (IGST) on imported refined palm oil to 12 per cent to offset the impending cut in import duty on the commodity from January next year, according to an official.