Malaysia And Indonesia Cannot Fail In Marketing Of Palm Oil

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- It is a shame if two countries, which control 85 per cent of the world's total production of palm oil, fail in the marketing of the commodity, said Sabri Ahmad, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV). Referring to Indonesia’s export tax regime, he said both countries should continue working together for the benefit of the industry. Currently, Indonesia charges a 19.5 per cent export duty on crude palm oil, while Malaysia's export duty is at 30 per cent, after a duty free limit of 3.6 million tonnes. This puts Malaysia at a disadvantage. "Indonesia is not our competitor. We are friends. We are in the same oil palm business and should work together. "Our competitor is soy bean, sunflower and rapeseed," he said to reporters at the end of a two-day media tour to the Felda operations in Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor, recently. "We used to have a committee at government-to-government level with industry working together. That should continue," Sabri said. Felda stands for Federal Land Development Authority, the world's third largest oil palm operator, mainly across Peninsular Malaysia. --BERNAMA