• Does Malaysia still produce palm oil?
  • In all cases these issues will require attention by the industry during the rest of this decade and beyond. Modern commercial oil palm cultivation began in Malaysia in 1917 (Basiron 2007) and over 88% of palm oil is still produced by Malaysia plus the neighbouring countries, Indonesia and Thailand (Statista 2020).
  • What is oil palm used for?
  • Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is by far the most important global oil crop, supplying about 40% of all traded vegetable oil. Palm oils are key dietary components consumed daily by over three billion people, mostly in Asia, and also have a wide range of important non-food uses including in cleansing and sanitizing products.
  • Why is the oil palm industry important?
  • The global oil palm industry is a major component of contemporary agriculture, supplying food to billions of people, plus a host of non-food products that include strategically vital cleaning products used in critical health care settings.
  • What percentage of palm oil is cultivated by smallholders?
  • Smallholders account for 30 to 40% of global land palm oil cultivation (Hambloch 2018; Euler et al. 2016). In SE Asia there are more than three million smallholders, nearly all of whom cultivate individual family-owned and managed plots of less than 50 ha and often as little as 1¨C2 ha.
  • Who owns the palm oil supply chain?
  • In some cases, the larger plantation companies also own or control many key downstream elements in palm oil supply chains. These include mills, refineries, shipping operations and the distribution networks to processors and retailers in export destinations.
  • Where do oil palm seeds come from?
  • Globally, the best production levels are achieved in high rainfall areas in equatorial regions between 7¡ã N and 7¡ã S. During the nineteenth century, oil palm seeds were transported to the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia), and to the Malay States (modern Malaysia), as part of colonial ventures to grow newly introduced cash crops in the region.