In the map, we see the distribution of production across the world. Small amounts of palm oil are grown in many countries, but the global market is dominated by only two: Indonesia and Malaysia. In the chart, we see the production of the palm oil plant across a number of countries. Other producers include Thailand, Colombia, and Nigeria.
How has palm oil production changed since the 1960s?
Palm oil production has increased rapidly since the 1960s. Between 1970 and 2020, the world’s production of palm oil increased by about 40 times. Global production went from only 2 million tonnes to around 80 million tonnes. The change in global production is shown in the chart.3
Is palm oil a commodity?
The story of palm oil is less about it as an isolated commodity and more about the rising demand for vegetable oils. 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.
Can Malaysia expand palm oil production?
"Malaysia Has Little Room for Expanding Palm-Oil Production, Minister Says". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013. ^ Scott-Thomas, Caroline (17 September 2012). "French firms urged to back away from ‘no palm oil’ label claims". Foodnavigator. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013.