What is palm oil?
Palm oil, together with its related product, palm kernel oil, is derived from the fruit of the oil palm. It is widely used in domestic cooking in Asia and generally as an ingredient of processed food products. It is one of the four major vegetable oils. By volume of world production it is second only to soya oil but is the most traded oil internationally.
Where is it produced and who are the main users?
Oil palms, which like a humid climate, regular rainfall and sunshine, are grown near the equator.
What is it used for?
Many food and non-food uses, principally:
Palm oil
- Food
- Cooking oil – domestic and commercial – particularly for frying because of its superior heat resistant properties;
- Margarine
- Bakery shortening
- Non food
- Soaps
- Bio-diesel
- Oleochemicals – of which detergents are one of the main final products
Palm kernel oil
Speciality fats, such as cocoa butter substitutes; shampoos; cosmetics; ice-cream. Palm kernel meal is used as animal feed.
