Malaysia irked by Sri Lanka’s palm oil import ban

Malaysia, one of the two key sources from where Sri Lanka imports palm oil, appears to have been visibly irked by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s move to ban palm oil imports.

Malaysia’s Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Dr. Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali was quoted by Malaysian media as saying that the Sri Lanka’s decision will have no effect on the country’s oil palm industry.

“The world has a population of over seven billion people and we are confident our palm oil will be accepted worldwide.

“If one party is not interested, many more are interested and most importantly we give the best quality in the country's palm oil production," Razali was quoted as saying.

He had added that the restrictions imposed by Sri Lanka is a discrimination as Malaysian palm oil is of best quality and has achieved 90 percent Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.

"Sri Lanka needs to get complete information from the Malaysian government on the efforts made so that our right to market palm oil abroad is not disputed," he said.

It is estimated Sri Lanka imports about 200,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia annually.