Malaysian Exporters Halt Palm Oil Supply to Iran - Asia Business News - CNBC
Malaysian palm oil exporters have stopped supplying most of the 30,000 metric tons of the food staple Iran used to buy each month from the Southeast Asian producer as fresh Western financial curbs on Tehran stymie payment procedures, two trading sources said.
The halt in Malaysia’s palm oil exports, which the traders said started late last year, is the latest sign that sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to abandon a suspected nuclear weapons program have started to bite.
The sanctions, spearheaded by the U.S. and European Union, have made it difficult for Iranian palm oil buyers to use letters of credit and make payments via middlemen in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Malaysian exporters.
Malaysia is the world’s No.2 producer of palm oil, used to make products from bio-diesel to cooking oil and confectionery.