PUTRAJAYA (Oct 25): Plantation player IOI Corp Bhd says there will be minimal impact to the group if India decides to ban the import of Malaysia palm oil to the country, as the south Asian nation is not a direct customer of the group.
"IOI does not export any volume directly to India, but indirectly, there may be a small percentage, because we sell to some big traders and they may sell to india, so the effect may be minimal," IOI Corp managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Lee Yeow Chor told reporters after the group's annual general meeting today.
At present, Lee said most of the group's products are exported to Europe and the US.
However, he is also unfazed by Europe's potential import ban on palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.
"The EU commission is reviewing this proposed measure. Of course, Malaysian stakeholders and government have a lot to say. But, if you look at the whole picture, global palm oil consumption is about 70 million tonnes today, and Europe consumes 3.5 million tonne or 5% of the total volume.
"Every year, global palm oil consumption grows 2%. So by 2030, if Europe's ban materialises and import [of palm oil] for biofuel is reduced to zero, that 5% volume would have been taken up by other places," he said.