Gov't aims to resolve palm oil spat with India within a month

The government has set itself a target of a month within which to resolve the trade dispute with India over palm oil, Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali says on Wednesday.

The deadline follows this week's swearing-in of a new cabinet after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took office last month.

"One of the first moves for the new government is to rebuild the relationship with India, especially for the palm oil issue," Mohd Khairuddin told reporters after the first meeting of the new cabinet.

India, the biggest buyer of the country's palm oil for five years, put curbs in January on purchases, in retaliation for then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's criticism of its policy on the Himalayan region of Kashmir and a new citizenship law.

Mohd Khairuddin said he wanted to send a delegation to India as soon as possible in the effort to improve ties.

"We will put this on the ministry's first agenda," he told reporters. "I set a time frame of a month."

Malaysia, the second biggest producer of crude palm oil after Indonesia, will look to expand its exports to new markets, such as Russia and the Middle East, he added.

After India's January curbs on imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia, traders had also held off on buying its crude palm oil.

Malaysia's exports to India dropped 54 percent last month from January, data showed this week.

- Reuters