Oil palm
Context and issues
Oil palm is the world's leading oil crop, and is a vital importance for many tropical countries. Its rapid expansion is raising new issues for research, in many fields: environmental, social, economic and political.
The figures for palm oil
- 60 million tonnes produced (54 Mt of palm and 6 Mt of palm kernel oil) per year
- Yields of almost 4 tonnes of oil (palm + PKO) per hectare per year, seven to ten times those of its direct rivals grown in temperate countries (soybean, rapeseed and sunflower)
- 5 million smallholders worldwide supply 40% of the total output
- 20 million hectares planted with oil palm in the humid tropics
- Two countries dominate production worldwide: Malaysia and Indonesia (90%)
- In tropical countries, the human diet accounts for more than 95% of consumption
- Europe imports palm oil as a food ingredient and, increasingly, to make agrofuels
- Global demand for oils and fats is growing by 3% per year
- The RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) encompasses more than 2500 players.
The issues
For this supply chain, which represents more than a third of global vegetable oil production, there are many issues:
- Satisfying growing demand for edible fats in the South, as a result of population growth and improved living standards in emerging countries
- Ensuring the sustainable, responsible development of a supply chain that respects both the environment and the rights of local people; anticipating on and supporting the recommendations of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil)
- Improving the productivity of the crop and promoting its by-products, by creating the conditions for ecological intensification
- Including family farms, which account for almost half of global production, in the recent changes made in the sector, such as certification.
Update date: 17/07/2017
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