March 04, 2005 11:00 IST - Malaysia has asked India to lower its duties onvegetable oils and fats, which forms a major chunk of Kuala Lumpur'sexports to the country, to a level comparable of soya oil.Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin FahKui said he planned to meet his Indian counterpart to seek clarificationon India's policy on the issue, a media report said on Friday.

India imports palm oil mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia and soya oilfrom Argentina and Brazil. Last month, India raised customs duties oncrude palm oil to 80 per cent from 65 per cent and on other palm oilsincluding refined, bleached and deodorised palmolein and RBD palm oil to90 per cent from 75 per cent.

India's duty structure on vegetable oils and fats had distorted the pricedifference between CPO and soya oil, Malaysian palm oil associationpresident M R Chandran alleged.

"There is a premium of $100- 110 for a tonne of soya oil. The value ofpalm oil should be at the same level even with the levy," he was quoted assaying by the local media.

Another oil trader and managing director of LMC International ltd, JamesFry, said India's import tariff policy would continue to haunt the marketlike a "ghost at a wedding," the New Straits Times newspaper reported.