Palm oil is the most widely-used vegetable oil in the world. Palm oil is squeezed from the fruits of the oil palm tree (Elaeis Guineensis). Oil palm trees grow in regions around the equator. The oil palm is a tropical tree with leaves about 5 meters long. When the oil palm trees are three to four years old, they develop palm fruit in bunches. The fruit bunches are harvested throughout the year. Each bunch contains hundreds of palm fruits. Palm fruits are about the size of large olives. The fruit has a single seed or kernel, which is used to produce palm kernel oil. Each palm fruit contains about 30-35 per cent oil. One palm tree produces 40 kilogrammes of oil every year. According to according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Palm oil is important for global food security and economic development.
Questions & Answers about Palm OilOriginally found in West Africa, the oil palm tree is now mostly cultivated in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s largest palm oil-producing nations. Indonesia and Malaysia supply 85 per cent of the palm oil used globally. According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil palm oil production employs and supports more than seven million plantation workers, smallholders and their families. Palm oil production is an important natural resource in these areas of the world with struggling economies.
How is palm oil produced?What the tree loves above all, is sun and humidity. It thrives on plenty of sunshine, temperatures ranging between 24 and 32 degrees centigrade and rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. Therefore, the most suitable areas for cultivation are located between ten degrees north and south from the equator. Apart from Indonesia and Malaysia there is an increase in palm oil production in other parts of the world including South and Central America, Thailand and Western Africa.
More factsThe oil palm is an extremely efficient crop, which makes the oil widely available and relatively cheap. Palm oil and palm kernel oil together represent 40 per cent of the global vegetable oil production. Palm oil has the highest yield compared to other oil crops per hectare of land. One hectare of oil palm trees produce on average 3.8 tons of oil each year. Oil palm accounts for 7.4 per cent of all the cultivated land for vegetable oils globally, but has the highest output, producing 39.6 per cent of all oils and fats. About 73 million tons of palm oil is produced annually. To obtain the same amount of alternative oils, such as soybean or coconut oil, between four and 10 times more land would be required, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
WWF on Palm OilPalm oil is widely used by food and non-food manufacturers because of its functional benefits, versatility and widespread availability. Palm oil has diverse functional properties. It provides a semi-solid consistency and long-term stability. It also performs well at high cooking temperatures. Its smooth and creamy texture and absence of smell make it a perfect and affordable ingredient in many recipes, supporting flavour and texture.
Functionality of Palm OilPalm oil can be used both as a crude oil as well as in the refined form. In its crude form, palm oil has a rich orange color, since it is pressed from the orange pulp of the fruit of the oil palm tree. Only one quarter of the palm oil and palm kernel oil worldwide is used as a crude oil. In Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of Brazil, crude palm oil is widely used for domestic cooking. Here, the oil is liquid at room temperature. In Europe and the United States palm oil is mostly used in its refined form, which is odourless and pale yellow, making it a valuable ingredient in an enormous amount of products, such as margarine, spreads, sauces, cakes and pastries. It is also widely used in non-food products such as soap, candles, and cosmetics.
One of palm oil’s benefit to companies is undeniably its extreme versatility. Palm oil can be transformed into a large number of fractions and derivatives. Palm oil and its derivatives are ubiquitous and are found in more than half of the products in the supermarket. Explicit labelling of palm oil in food product ingredient lists is required by law in all EU countries. In non-food products, such as shampoos, body lotions, sun creams and cleaning products palm fractions and palm-based derivatives other names for palm oil are used for the fractions and derivatives.