Poland to trade weapons of war for palm oil from Malaysia

The governments of Poland and Malaysia are putting the final touches on their contract for the sale of 48 Polish tanks and 14 other armored vehicles to Malaysian armed forces. To offset this transaction, Poland will invest money in the production of Malaysian tractors, helicopters and small agricultural planes. "We are now holding talks about the contract which should be concluded before the end of this year...the first tanks should be shipped to Malaysia next year," said Andrzej Gerhardt, the trade consultant for the Polish embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Under the contract's provisions, a part of the transaction, valued at $400 million, will be financed with palm oil, which will later be sold on the Rotterdam Bourse. "Palm oil is a popular ingredient in food and cosmetics industry, but Polish factories will not be able to process such huge amounts of the product," Gerhardt explained. According to analysts, Poland has already lost one contract for the delivery of military equipment to Malaysia when it refused to accept barter as the form of payment. "There has been slight revival in contacts between small and medium-sized Polish and Malaysian companies. Polish amber and silver have conquered the Malaysian Market," commented Gerhardt. (Rzeczpospolita, p, B2) J.K.