This comes after Malaysia's Prime Minister criticised India's actions in Kashmir and its new citizenship law
The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a notification on Wednesday declaring that the import of refined palm oil is amended from 'Free' to 'Restricted'
The move comes against the backdrop of remarks by Malaysia on the new citizenship law and Kashmir issue
On Monday, the commerce ministry held a detailed meeting with edible oil industry stakeholders and asked them informally to avoid purchase of Malaysian palm oil, a government source said
The first decline in three months of growing purchases by India, the world's biggest importer, may boost inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia
From RCEP deal to P Chidambaram's custodial interrogation, here are the top news developments that made headlines today
Such a move by India could reduce refined palm shipments from top producers Indonesia and Malaysia
India's top vegetable oil trade body on Monday asked its members to stop buying Malaysian palm oil after Mahathir's comments
On Monday, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEAI) asked its members to stop buying palm oil from Malaysia
The two commodity heavyweights have set a target to double trade to $50 billion in 2025
Malaysia is the world's second largest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia, and the edible oil contributed to 2.8% of its gross domestic product last year
To be "on cautious side, buyers are preferring Indonesian shipments to avoid any possible impact of higher duties."
The government wants to send a strong signal of its displeasure to Malaysian authorities, the sources said.
India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia
Malaysian exports of refined palm oil to India, the world's biggest importer of edible oils, jumped 727% in the first half of 2019 to 1.57 million tonnes compared with the same period a year before
If found that the jump in imports have impacted domestic players, the directorate would recommend safeguard duty on the palm oil
India primarily imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.