A common ingredient in many products on supermarket shelves – ranging from food-related to personal care – palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world.
It holds a market share of 38 percent of the world’s major oil and fats today. With a rising global population and affluence especially in the emerging economies such as China and India, the use of palm oil is expected to double by 2020.
With vast fertile soil, abundant sunshine and regular rainfall, Indonesia provides favourable conditions for an extensive range of agricultural produce, among which is palm oil. Market reports indicate that Indonesia now supplies more than half the world’s palm oil, followed by Malaysia at 33%. With limited land opportunity in Malaysia, Indonesia is expected to drive the global industry’s growth.