Malaysia to study impact of India's planned trade action

The Malaysian government will monitor trade situation with India

KUALA LAMPUR: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his government will monitor the trade situation with India, which is reported to be considering trade curbs on the Southeast Asian nation over his criticism of actions in Kashmir, news wire Bernama reported.

Government and industry sources told Reuters last week that New Delhi is looking for ways to limit palm oil imports and other goods from Malaysia, in retaliation for Mahathir’s speech at the United Nations in September when he said India had “invaded and occupied” Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Malaysia had said it did not receive “anything official” from India.

Mahathir said on Sunday his government will “study the impact of the action taken by India”, the government-owned Bernama said.

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“They are exporting goods to Malaysia too. It’s not just one-way trade, it’s two-way trade,” Mahathir was quoted as saying in the report.

India is the world’s biggest importer of edible oils, and is the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil. It bought 3.9 million tonnes of Malaysian palm oil in the first nine months of 2019, according to data compiled by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

Malaysia’s key imports from India include petroleum products, live animals and meats, metals, chemicals and chemical products.