Malaysia requests India to ease export curbs on some farm goods

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Malaysia has requested India to ease export curbs on some farm goods like rice and sugar, Malaysia’s minister for plantation and commodities said on Thursday.

India, the world’s biggest exporter of rice and onions and the second biggest exporter of sugar, imposed curbs on the exports of these commodities in 2023 to keep local prices in check ahead of the general elections held in April-May.

India’s abrupt export curbs on farm goods are bad for Malaysia, Johari Abdul Ghani said on the sidelines of an industry conference in New Delhi.

“If India opens up, it will be good for Malaysia,” he said.

India was a leading source of sugar, rice, and onions for Malaysia, which itself is the second-largest exporter of palm oil to India, after Indonesia.

New Delhi is likely to cut the floor price for basmati rice exports and replace the 20% export tax on parboiled rice with a fixed duty on overseas shipments, government sources said, as rice inventories in the country jumped a record high.