07 June 2023

Coconut Palm is a magic ingredient in everything from biscuits to shampoo. The fruit can be pressed to produce a very special type of oil that makes cakes healthier, soaps more effervescent, and chips crispier. Palm oil can even make lipstick smoother and keep ice cream from melting. Because of these amazing qualities, people come from all over the world to buy the fruit and the oil.

The fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), which grows in tropical climates, contains the world's most versatile vegetable oil. It can handle frying without spoiling, and blends well with other oils. The combination of the different types of fat and its consistency once refined makes it a popular ingredient in packaged baked goods. Its low production cost makes it cheaper than cooking oils such as cottonseed or sunflower.

How has palm oil infiltrated every corner of our lives? There wasn't a single innovation that caused palm oil consumption to soar. Instead, it was the perfect commodity at the perfect time for industry after industry, each of which adopted it to replace materials and never looked back.

At the same time, producing countries view palm oil as a poverty alleviation scheme, while international financial organizations view it as a growth engine for developing economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged Malaysia and Indonesia to produce more.

Palm oil's world dominance is the result of several factors:

1.  Palm oil replaces less healthy fats in western diets.
2. Producers have pushed to keep prices low.
3. It has replaced more expensive oils in home and personal care products.
4. Again because it is cheap, it is widely used as cooking oil in Asian countries.

Source : Theguardian.com