KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): Malaysia has maintained its April export tax for crude palm oil at 8% and raised its reference price, a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website showed on Thursday (March 23).

The world's second largest palm exporter calculated a reference price of RM4,031.45 per tonne for April. The March reference price was RM37,10.35 a tonne.

The export tax structure starts at 3% for crude palm oil in a RM2,250 to RM2,400-per-tonne range. The maximum tax rate is set at 8% when prices exceed RM3,450 a tonne.