The Malaysian government has maintained its crude palm oil (CPO) export tax rate for August at the maximum level of 8% while raising its reference price, AgriCensus quoted the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) as saying in a circular.
The CPO reference price for August would be increased to MYR3,614.28/tonne (US$793/tonne) from the previous rate of MYR3,604.73/tonne, with the resulting payable export duty increased to MYR289.14/tonne (US$63.5/tonne) from the July rate of MYR288.38/tonne, the 14 July report said.
The export duty rate remains unchanged at the maximum rate of 8% as the reference price remains above the threshold of MYR3,450/tonne based on the current tax structure, according to the report.
Malaysia’s export tax for CPO works on a progressive rate structure, starting from 3% for when CPO prices are between MYR2,250-2,400/tonne.
Meanwhile, neighbouring producer Indonesia had raised its CPO reference price for 16-31 July to US$791.02/tonne from the previous US$747.23/tonne, effectively raising its export duty and levy to US$33/tonne and US$85/tonne from US$18/tonne and US$75/tonne with taxes for other palm products also due to be raised, AgriCensus wrote.
The increase in Indonesian taxes further narrowed the discount against Malaysian palm products, which had seen an increase in exports this month with 1-10 July exports rising between 17.2-26.09% from the same period in June, based on estimates by cargo surveyors, the report said.
