02/08/2008 (The News - International), Jakarta - Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, will ask Pakistan to lower import tariffs for palm oil products to boost its palm oil exports, a senior government official said on Friday.

Indonesia faces competition from rival palm oil producer Malaysia, whose products enjoy a discount on import tariffs thanks to a free trade deal signed last year, Bayu Krisnamurthi, deputy to the chief economic minister, told reporters.

“Palm oil exports to Pakistan have slowed in the past months because Pakistan has imposed different import duties,” he said.

“We will send a team to lobby Pakistan’s government to lower import duties for our palm oil products to the same level as Malaysia.”

Malaysia and Pakistan signed a bilateral free trade deal in November 2007, giving Malaysia a discount on its existing palm oil import tariffs until 2010. The discount was set at 10 per cent this year, increasing to 15 per cent in 2010.