Despite this opportunity, vegetable oil production is increasing slowly in Africa, by 2.1% annually from 2000?2003 compared to 10.7% in Latin America, 4.5% in Asia and 4.2% in Europe for the same period.
What are the most important oil species in tropical Africa?
The 48 most important oil species in tropical Africa belong to 23 plant families (Figure 1). Euphorbiaceae is the family with, by far, the largest number of oil species used in tropical Africa (8 species), followed by Clusiaceae (5 species), Asteraceae (4 species) and Bombacaceae, Brassicaceae and Irvingiaceae (3 species each).
Why are African vegetable oil producers unable to compete in global markets?
International markets exist for several vegetable oils grown in Africa but, due to high production costs, low yields and low returns, African producers are unable to compete in these markets; they need eficient labour, farm inputs, production scales and improved infrastructure to reduce production costs and compete in global markets.
What is the most important oil crop in Africa?
Of the important oil crops in Africa, Ethiopian kale (Brassica carinata), brown mustard (Brassica. juncea), sunflower, coconut and cram-cram (Crambe hispanica) are recognised as priorities for conservation and germplasm exchange by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (www. planttreaty.org).