RI Lobbies India to Cut Palm Oil Tax

For the record, currently, Indonesia's RBDPO import duty to India reached 50%. Indonesia requested the same treatment as the product from Malaysia, which is charged a tariff of only 45%. Indonesia offers reciprocity as an effort to reduce this import duty. Enggartiasto said that Indonesia will open the raw sugar market from India for the industry in Indonesia. "In return, Indonesia is willing to open access for raw sugar from India," Enggar explained. The raw sugar from India is considered to be of good quality. Thus far, Indonesia's raw sugar needs are supplied by two countries, namely Australia and Thailand. Enggar claimed that India gave a positive response to Indonesia's offer. He said that the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Civil Aviation of India, Suresh Prabhu, prepared to fulfill Indonesia's request. The plan to reduce the import duty will boost the export of palm oil product to India. Thus far, India is the number one export market for Indonesian palm oil products with an average of above 6 million tons per year. The Executive Director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (Gapki), Mukti Sardjono, admitted that the competitiveness of Indonesia's palm oil to India has been declining because the import duty is higher than that of Malaysia's product. "If the import duty to India is the same as Malaysia, the competitiveness of our palm oil export will be the same," Mukti said. Good competitiveness will increase the export. It is considered effective to increase Indonesia's palm oil export. Just so you know, the change in import duty has previously suppressed Indonesia's palm oil export to India. The export of Indonesia's palm oil to India in 2018 was 6.7 million tons; down compared to 2017 which was above 7 million tons. "We hope that the export can increase again to at least 7 million tons like in 2017," Mukti explained. The export market for palm oil to India still has great potential. With the population of more than one billion people, the consumption of palm oil products and its derivatives by the people of India is still quite large.

Source: Kontan Newspaper, February 25, 2019