Duty cut boosts refined palm imports from Malaysia

India’s imports of refined, bleached and deodorised palmolein (RBD PL) from Malaysia accounted for 60 per cent of total palm oil imports from that country in the six months through June 2019.

The high level of RBD imports used by hoteliers, restaurateurs and canteens has caused much consternation among local refiners who are facing a threat to their existence, said Atul Chaturvedi, president of trade body Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA).

Huge imports of RBD palm, in turn, pushed up total Malaysian palm imports into India by 86 per cent to 2.58 million tonnes during Jan-June 2019 from 1.38 million tonnes in the same period last year. It also exceeds total imports of 2.51 million tonnes of palm from that country last year.


For the year, Malaysian imports of palm oil are expected to surpass those from Indonesia which has traditionally been the largest supplier of palm to India.

The reason for Malaysian RBD imports flooding India is the cut in duty difference between crude palm and refined palm to 5 per cent in January from 10 per cent earlier under the Malaysian India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MI CECA).