Curbs on palm oil imports product-specific, not country-specific: MEA

The government's imposition of restrictions on imports of refined palm oil is product-specific and not country-specific, but the state of relationship between countries does impact business decisions, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday amid suggestions that move was targeted at Malaysia which has criticised India over issues such as the CAA.

According to a notification of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the "import policy" is amended from "free to restricted" for refined bleached deodorised palm oil and refined bleached deodorised palmolein.

Asked if India has imposed a trade curb on Malaysia, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the notification issued is not country-specific, but product specific.

"When you are looking at issues pertaining to the import of any product from any country, there are basically two factors -- one is the commercial decision and the other could be defined by the trade policy and in this case it is being ..