PUTRAJAYA, June 19 — India’s southern state, Telangana is seeking Malaysia’s expert assistance in the oil palm industry in the form of technology transfer, encompassing oil palm management, palm oil processing and the industry’s ecosystem.

In a statement today, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said the matter was disclosed during his teleconference with Telangana’s Agriculture, Marketing and Civil Supplies Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy yesterday.

Palm oil constitutes about 60 per cent of India’s annual 15 million tonnes of vegetable oil imports.

"Malaysia will use this opportunity to expand the Malaysian palm oil market in India through promotion and cooperation with the Telangana state government,” said Mohd Khairuddin.

He added that the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry is also ready to cooperate and share its expertise in bamboo planting with the Telangana state government.

Mohd Khairuddin said both parties are willing to work together, especially in the transferring of technology in relevant fields which will be identified and fine-tuned at the officer level.

"Both parties have also agreed to organise technical visits to strengthen the cooperation once the Covid-19 pandemic ends,” he added. — Bernama