KUCHING: The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) will discuss with the state government regarding the existing palm oil sales tax in Sarawak.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said there are various types of taxes on the production and sales of palm oil, one of which is the sales tax calculated based on bunches of the raw fruit instead of the processed oil.
“That is why the farmers are appealing to consider that the tax should be calculated on palm oil that has been processed, exported and sold but not on bunches of raw palms.
“However, this will require discussion with the Sarawak government, given that this matter falls under the purview of the state. Subsequently, we can assess how this can be further improved in relation to the sales tax,” he said.
He said this when met by reporters after the Cocoa Garden Restoration Programme in conjunction with the Sarawak Zone Commodity Track held at Kampung Serpan Laut, Asajaya here on Saturday.
Fadillah, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister, revealed that the ministry is currently developing a strategy to address India’s growing demand for crude palm oil (CPO) from Malaysia.
He said India is currently Malaysia’s largest importer of CPO involving a total of four million metric tons per year.
“India needs six million metric tons of CPO, but we cannot sell all the CPO to one country. Instead, we are diversifying to expand our CPO exports to China. We are looking to increase our imports to China to 3.4 million metric tons next year due to increased demands.
“More importantly, they have agreed in principle to use the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Scheme (MSPO) in their production, which is an advantage for us,” he explained.
He further added that the ministry is also establishing cooperation with China’s ministry of agriculture to further develop palm oil through research and development.
“One of the main components of palm oil is vitamin E, which can be used to produce vitamin E capsules and red palm oil.
“Moreover, China, though a research institute established under the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has developed red palm oil into feeds for hairy crabs, which is a premium product in the region. These factors have contributed to the increase demands of CPO,” he added.
