COLOMBO: Malaysian products, including palm oil, will get better access and lower tariffs in Sri Lanka following the setting up of a free trade agreement between both countries, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said both countries restated their commitments to finalise the negotiations for the FTA as soon as possible.
“One of the benefits (for Malaysia) will be better access for our products to the Sri Lankan market, and one of the products is palm oil,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka currently imposes certain duties on Malaysian palm oil.
“If palm oil is included in the FTA, we will have better access for crude palm oil and palm oil products in the Sri Lankan market,” he told Malaysian reporters here yesterday.
The Prime Minister said Malaysia can expect the current duty structure to be revised once the FTA becomes a reality.
Malaysia, he said, can also expect a wide range of products and services to gain better access to Sri Lanka following an FTA.
“We hope the FTA can be finalised as soon as possible, because with my visit here, there is a determination to continue the discussions for the FTA.”
Najib said bilateral trade between Malaysia and Sri Lanka grew by 13.6% to US$499.1mil (RM2.036bil) from January to September this year, compared to the same period last year.
With trade growing, Najib said one aspect which Malaysia needs to deal with is a trade imbalance with Sri Lanka. The value of Malaysia’s current exports to Sri Lanka is 10 times more than the value of goods imported from the country.
Najib said Sri Lanka hopes Malaysia can therefore buy more products from the country in an effort to tackle the trade imbalance.
The Prime Minister said he informed the Sri Lankan president of Malaysia’s recognised capabilities in various sectors, including highway construction, public housing, health services, power generation and airport management.
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