The oil palm and its products: competitiveness and opportunities in the 21st Century

Abstract

Malaysian palm oil has increasingly dominated the oils and fats trade for the last three decades with production rising from 90,000 tonnes in 1960 to 7.22 million tonnes in 1994. In addition some 0.98 million tonnes of palm kernel oil and 1.22 million tonnes of palm kernel meal were also produced as co-products. Malaysia is the leading producer with about 52 per cent of the total world's production of palm oil. At the same time Malaysia exports more than 90 per cent of its production and this contributes to about 25 per cent the total world's traded oils and fats. The industry accounted for a significant 7 per cent of the export revenue for the country in 1994.