CPO producers countries to strengthen bargaining power

In response to India's move to slap a high import duty on crude palm oil (CPO), the world's top CPO producers -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand -- aim to form a trilateral cooperation pact that could eventually affect global CPO prices.

""We must have a strong cooperation in production and marketing (of CPO), to eventually dominate the world market and set the course of the global price,"" Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz said here. 
A trilateral cooperation pact would result in the region, as the world's world's CPO production base, having more bargaining power to negotiate cases like the one in India. 
""India's move is an act of discrimination against Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as it imposes far higher import duty on CPO compared to soybean oil and other vegetable oil,"" Rafidah said after a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu on Tuesday. 
However, Rafidah emphasized that cooperation between the three countries would not be in the form of a cartel -- as that would be against World Trade Organization regulations. 

In the mean time,........... Source: The Jakarta Post