Why has the demand for palm oil grown?
The production of palm oil has more than doubled in the last thirteen years. This increased global production volume has been mainly driven by the increase in palm oil under acreage rather than through increase in technology and yield per hectare (average yield per hectare has remained relatively constant throughout this period) – i.e. the mature area of oil palm plantation has grown by more than 7% but the growth in yields has remained constant at approximately 1%. Source • Oil World Annual (1999 – 2005) & Oil World Weekly (16 December, 2005 • MPOB – For data on Malaysia) • United States Department of Agriculture Oil palm is now the world’s most important edible oil when ranked by global production and consumption. In the 2006/2007 year, it held approximately 32% of the market share of all edible oils by production in comparison to soybean oil, which held approximately 29% of the world market for oils. Malaysia and Indonesia produce the majority the world’s palm oil, accounting for ap
