• How much palm oil is exported a year?
  • World exports of palm oil expanded rapidly during the last decade from about 860.9 thousand tons in 1969 to about 2,294.7 thousand tons in 1979. Tables IV-Bl and IV-B2 indicate the levels of exports of palm oil by major exporting countries and regions. Palm oil exports grew at an average rate of 13.1% a year.
  • How much land is used to grow palm oil?
  • Between 1970 and 2020, the land the world uses to grow palm has increased by almost ten times, from 3 million to almost 30 million hectares. Indonesia and Malaysia account for around 70% of global land use for palm oil. This is relatively little, considering that these countries account for more than 80% of production.
  • Does oil palm need more land to meet global oil demand?
  • Oil palm¡¯s high yields mean that it requires less land to meet global oil demand than other oil crops. However, minimizing overall vegetable oil crop impacts requires evaluation for their past, current and projected distribution and impacts, and review of their yields, global trade and uses.
  • Which countries use the most land for palm oil?
  • Indonesia and Malaysia account for around 70% of global land use for palm oil. This is relatively little, considering that these countries account for more than 80% of production. This is because both countries achieve high yields. Shown in the chart is the amount of land that the world devotes to vegetable oil crop production.
  • Where is palm oil produced?
  • Palm oil is produced mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The key producers include Indonesia, Malaysia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Zaire. Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil. It accounted for 31.5 percent of world production between 1970 and 1974 but by 1979 its share of world output bad increased to 33.6 percent.
  • Is palm oil a good crop?
  • Palm oil is a very productive crop; as we will see later, it produces over a third of the world¡¯s oil but uses less than a tenth of croplands devoted to oil production. It has, therefore, been a natural choice to meet this demand. Who uses palm oil, and what is it used for?