Pakistan potentially a big market for palm oil, says Kok

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia hopes to expand its share of the palm oil market in Pakistan now that the latter government has agreed to increase its imports, says Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok (pic).

She said the country's share of the market in Pakistan was currently only at 22%.

She pointed out that Pakistan had a population of 200 million and a growth rate of 2.5% annually, so the potential to capture a larger market was there.

“We are happy to hear Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan saying they will buy more palm oil from Malaysia.

“There is a potential for Malaysian palm oil to grow, and Pakistan is definitely a destination, ” she said to reporters on Friday (Feb 7).

Imran, who visited Malaysia earlier this week, said Pakistan would try its best to compensate any slack in Malaysia’s palm oil export after India threatened to cut imports.

"We noticed that India threatened Malaysia for supporting the Kashmir cause and threatened to cut palm oil imports. Pakistan will try its best to compensate," he had said.

India's directorate general of foreign trade has announced restrictions on the import of refined palm oil and palm olein, where importers would now be required to apply for licences.

The Indian import controls came after remarks by Dr Mahathir regarding India's actions on Kashmir and the new citizenship law enacted by New Delhi last year.

Pakistan imported 1.16 million metric tonnes of palm oil, worth RM2.97bil from Malaysia in 2018.