Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

In jab at India, Pakistan pledges to buy more Malaysian palm oil

1430517
1430517
minus
plus

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan plans to import more Malaysian palm oil to make up for losses incurred since India imposed informal restrictions on Malaysian imports last month.


Speaking alongside visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad said Pakistan is “quite ready” to import more of the commodity from Malaysia.


Khan in turn thanked Mahathir for speaking out against New Delhi’s policies in Kashmir and said his country will “try its best to compensate” Malaysia for India’s apparent retaliation. Mahathir has also accused the Indian government of discriminating against minorities.


Malaysia’s Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok described Khan’s promise as “a testament to the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries,” telling reporters that during a recent visit to Pakistan she “was made aware that there is a shortage of crude palmoil in the country.”


Kok said Pakistan has been “one of Malaysia’s most regular and dependable buyers of palm oil and products” but it seems unlikely that any increase in purchases by Islamabad can make up for losses incurred by India’s import ban, given that India’s 2019 imports of Malaysian palm oil were four times Pakistan’s, according to statistics from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, a local industry body.


International Monetary Fund estimates put India’s 2019 gross domestic product at almost 3 trillion dollars, making its economy more than 10 times bigger than Pakistan’s.


Trade data for 2019 published today by the Malaysian government show palm oil making up 6.6 per cent of total exports, with India and China neck and neck as Malaysia’s two biggest buyers. — dpa


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon