Call for Malaysia to supply palm oil under G2G

Commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin has requested the plantation and commodities minister of Malaysia to take steps to supply refined palm oil to Bangladesh under government-to-government (G2G) arrangement.

He made the call during his two-day visit to the Southeast Asian country.

During a meeting with his counterpart Johari Abdul Ghani, Mr Bashir shed light on various aspects of Bangladesh-Malaysia bilateral relations.

He informed the Malaysian minister of the demand, production and supply system of essential commodities in Bangladesh.

It is worth noting that Malaysia is the world's second-largest palm oil producer and Bangladesh is one of the major South Asian countries in terms of importing Malaysian crude palm oil.

Mr Bashir also highlighted his government's plan to provide essential commodities like edible oil at fair prices to 10-million families through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh under the social safety-net programme.

He, therefore, requested Mr Ghani to take necessary steps as early as possible to supply refined palm oil to Bangladesh, under the support of the Malaysian government, ahead of the upcoming holy Ramadan.

The Malaysian minister took note of the request for palm oil supply on a G2G basis under the patronage of his government and assured the adviser of taking effective measures after discussing this matter with local businessmen.

The topics discussed included collaboration in the rubber sector development, potential trade and investment opportunities, and cooperation in establishing the 'Commodity Exchange' mooted by the Chittagong Stock Exchange.

High officials of both Bangladesh and Malaysia were present at the meeting.

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