• Is Malaysia’s palm oil industry a casualty of a Kashmir row?
  • Malaysia’s palm oil industry has become an unexpected casualty of a row with India over disputed Kashmir. Ties have been frosty since late September when Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said India had “invaded and occupied” the Himalayan territory.
  • Who is Malaysia’s biggest buyer of palm oil?
  • In 2019, India was Malaysia¡¯s biggest buyer of palm oil. Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed that New Delhi purchased 4.4 million tonnes of palm oil from Kuala Lumpur. However, then Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad caused an outcry in India when he criticised India¡¯s actions in Kashmir and the citizenship law.
  • Does India import palm oil from Malaysia?
  • India had responded by changing its rules to curb the import of refined palm oil from Malaysia. As per BBC, Malaysia¡¯s palm oil exports to India shrank from 310,648 tonnes in September to 219,956 tonnes in October. India imported just 142,696 tonnes of palm oil in November.
  • What role has palm oil played in India-Malaysia ties?
  • One of the most important parts of the relationship is trade in palm oil ¨C which used in anything from lipstick to pizza ¨C of which Malaysia is the world¡¯s second-largest producer and India is the world¡¯s largest importer. But
  • What is copra used for?
  • Copra, after extraction of oil, leaves a residue which is palatable oil cake (or copra meal or mash). It is used in animal feeds, mainly for ruminants. It is used as fodder for horses, cattle, sheep and deer. Its high protein content (and oil content) is fattening for stock.
  • Why are some palm kernel oil millers still crushing copra?
  • In fact some are still crushing copra if it is more profitable. Thus in the early days, all the millers used mechanical presses for palm kernel oil extraction. However with the increase in kernel production, plants of bigger capacities were built and solvent extraction technology was introduced.