Malaysia-India deal on import duty may hit Indian edible oil industry hard

Lower duty on Malaysian edible oil from Jan set to escalate imports; domestic oilseed prices may decline, adding to farmers' woes

In a major worry for farmers, oilseed prices are set to decline due to lower demand from the domestic crushing and processing industry, following dumping of edible oil from Malaysia, the country sitting on a massive stockpile and looking for a duty cut to boost its shipment.

The government of India had signed the Malaysia–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) in October 2010, under which the effective duty on all products to be imported from Malaysia in to India would not be more than a mutually agreed threshold limit. In the case of crude palm oil (CPO) and refined edible