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Kuala Lumpur: Italy is keen to ink a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia to boost bilateral trade between the two countries, its Secretary of State International of Trade and Investment Attraction, Ivan Scalfarotto said.He said the FTA would be instrumental in promoting trade ties between the two nations following a meeting between Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and the European Union Trade Commissioner on Oct 20.

"I hope this (FTA deal) will happen soon," he told reporters here Monday night.

Data from the Italian Embassy in Malaysia showed that bilateral trade between Malaysia and Italy rose 17.8 per cent to 1.15 billion euro (1 euro= RM4.92) in the first half of the year from 976.43 million euro in the same period last year.

Italian imports from Malaysia improved 4.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 517.12 million euro for the January-June 2017 period, while Italian exports to Malaysia jumped 31.7 per cent y-o-y 633.49 million euro.

In 2016, Italy ranked as Malaysia's 22nd largest trading partner and fifth largest trading partner among European countries.

On the European Parliament's Palm Oil and Deforestation of the Rainforests resolution, which is expected to be ratified by November this year, Scalfarotto said it was important to raise consumer awareness of palm oil rather than gaining political support. However, he said there was a demand for "palm-oil free" products in the Italian market.

Malaysia exported RM10.23 billion worth of palm oil and palm products to the European Union last year, accounting for 15 per cent its total exports of the products. – Bernama