India agrees to lower import duties on Indonesian palm oil

India has agreed to reduce import duties on Indonesian processed palm oil to 45 per cent bringing about parity with imports from Malaysia.

The decision was taken by India in a meeting between Commerce & Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal and his Indonesian counterpart Mr. Enggartiasto Lukita on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) in Bangkok, Thailand, recently.

In response to this, Indonesia has offered market access for India to export raw sugar by lowering the standard requirement for imported refined crystal sugar to a level that the country could find possible to meet, according to Mr. Lukita. India had imposed a 45 per cent tariff for Malaysian palm oil exports under the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, while the export duty on palm oil under the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement was set at 50 per cent.

Interestingly, the Finance Ministry recently announced an increase in the rate of customs duty by 5 per cent on imports of two varieties of palmolein oil originating in Malaysia for a period of 180 days to safeguard the interest of the domestic industry.