RI, KL form consultative palmoil group

RI, KL form consultative palmoil group

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta

Indonesia and Malaysia on Tuesday formed a consultative group to boost crude palm oil (CPO) exports.

Indonesian Industry and Trade Minister Rini Suwandi and Malaysian Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik signed a document setting up the group during a meeting in Bali Tuesday, the state Antara news agency said.

"This cooperation is important especially for the private sector, and the government will facilitate every form of cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries," Suwandi said.

Through the group, private producers from the two countries could exchange input and advice in their efforts to overcome various trade obstacles, Lim said.

He cited various non-tariff barriers or quotas imposed by China and India on CPO from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Lim said Indonesia and Malaysia, as mere producers, were at a disadvantage because they sell a cheap commodity. The buyers reaped high added values after processing it into other products.

Production by the two counties accounts for some 90 percent of the world's supply.

Lim, quoted by Antara, said Indonesia could soon replace Malaysia as the world's top CPO producer as it had ample land and abundant manpower.

"We (Malaysia) have in the recent years recorded a drop in (plantation) land and have been facing difficulties in obtaining workers, so defending our position as the world's largest palm oil producer has now become very difficult," he said.

The two ministers are in Bali mainly to inaugurate a new natural rubber organization also including Thailand on Wednesday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will also hold talks with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Bali on Thursday.