04/05/2008 (Radio Australia) - India says it is close to clinching a free trade deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations .

Trade minister Kamal Nath, in the Indonesian island of Bali for a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts says an agreement could be concluded in three months.

Mr Nath says a dispute with Indonesia over palm oil would be resolved.

Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, has been insisting on having wider access to India's palm oil market as a condition of removing its opposition to a free trade agreement.

Mr Nath says with the bleak world food situation it's important for regional integration.