What is palm oil and what is it produced from?
Palm oil is an “edible oil” produced from the fruit of an oil palm tree. The oil palm is a tropical palm tree that originates from the coastal regions of West and Central Africa and Central and South America. The tree was exported to countries in Southeast Asia in the 18th Century Oil palms require a constant wet tropical climate with an annual temperature range of between 24 to 32C, generally limiting its suitability to latitudes of approximately ten degrees north and south of the equator, at altitudes below 700 meters. This is approximately the region in which the bulk of the world’s tropical rainforests are also located. It is a perennial crop, which reaches maturity in three to four years, when it is about 2 meters high. Its economic life continues until it reaches the age of 20 to 30 years during which it can reach a height of more than 10 meters. Although, the oil palm is productive throughout its entire life, it is most productive in its sixth and tenth year. The oil palm tree p
