India’s ban on Malaysia’s refined palm oil hearsay, says Teresa Kok
Free Malaysia Today (12/01/2020) PETALING JAYA: Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok has quashed reports that India has imposed restrictions on imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia, saying it was mere “hearsay”.
This comes after reports that India’s commerce and industry ministry issued a notification declaring that the import of refined palm oil was “amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted’”.
Kok confirmed the existence of such a memo but said the notification did not explicitly mention Malaysian refined palm oil.
“Again, this is not from the government but just hearsay
“It is a general notification only,” she told FMT.
It was reported on Jan 8 that India imposed restrictions on imports of refined palm oil and palm olein, in apparent retaliation against top supplier Malaysia after its criticism of India’s actions in Kashmir and a new citizenship law.
Indian government and industry sources had told Reuters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government was seeking to target Malaysia after recent criticism of India by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir said in October that India “invaded and occupied” Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region also claimed by Pakistan.
Last month, he said India was stoking unrest with its new citizenship law, which critics say undermines the country’s secular foundations.
Palm oil is crucial for the Malaysian economy as it accounts for 2.8% of gross domestic product and 4.5% of total exports.
Yesterday, Kok said Pakistan was one of Malaysia’s most regular and dependable buyers of palm oil, with the potential for a higher uptake by the Islamic republic.