Breaking News-RTRS-Malaysia swaps palm for fertiliser with N.Korea-report

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Malaysia has imported fertiliser components from North Korea in exchange for palm oil in a barter trade deal last month, a Malay language newspaper reported on Sunday.
The deal comes as the world's second largest producer of palm oil tries to further reduce its stock levels and slash a ballooning fertiliser import bill, Commodities Minister Peter Chin said. "We have already started the barter trade with North Korea and will extend this to Morocco, Jordan and Syria because these countries have the fertiliser components we need," Chin was quoted by Mingguan Malaysia newspaper as saying.