Barter trade to the rescue

BACK in the early 1990s, the palm oil barter trade under Malaysia’s palm oil credit and payment arrangement (POCPA) was mostly for exchanging finished goods like jet fighters and railway infrastructure.

The situation, however, has changed drastically from 2000 onwards especially during the recent commodities boom where Malaysia is more inclined to counter trade palm oil with basic commodities, which are more economical to import or totally unavailable in the country.