India’s palm oil imports jumped 65% in May from a year earlier as oversees purchases of refined palm more than doubled due to lower import duty and a drop in prices, a leading trade body said on Friday. Palm oil imports totalled 818,149 tonnes last month, including 371,060 tonnes of refined palm oil. India’s decision to cut duty on refined palm oil imports from Malaysia, halved the spread between refined and palm oil duty structures to 5%, making it lucrative for importers to buy refined products from the Southeast Asian country, the SEA said. Indian edible oil refiners have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise duty on refined palm oil imports.
— source thestar.com.my | 15 Jun 2019