After the great Indian snub, Malaysia claims to have found an ideal partner for their palm oil export – Pakistan. Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok recently visited Pakistan and met country’s Advisor for Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment – Abdul Razak Dawood.

“The two leaders took the opportunity for a bilateral dialogue to explore various issues of common interest to both the countries. Both highlighted the exceptional bilateral relations between Malaysia and Pakistan and decided to further explore areas to enhance trade. 

“Pakistan is an important importer of Malaysian palm oil and products. In 2018, Pakistan imported 1.16 million metric tonnes (MT) of palm oil from Malaysia valued at US$0.83 billion.

The Malaysian ministry said that Pakistan is among the first export destinations in which Malaysia has major investments in bulking installation and refineries and the liquid cargo jetty dedicated for the handling of palm oil.

Kok highlighted that palm oil has the potential for higher uptake in Pakistan given that its local production of oils and fats meets only around 20% of its consumption needs.

Earlier, India banned the imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia following criticism from PM Mahathir Mohamad over India’s actions in Kashmir and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.