The good,bad and...28 Jul 2019 09:38
Palm Oil gets a bum rap from many pontificating outside the industry. For sure deforestation impacts on the endangered animal species, releases CO2 into the atmosphere from clearing forests and accelerates the rise in global temperatures. A more environment friendly replanting is under way in Indonesia with forest areas being preserved.
Unfortunately for the haters of Palm by 2022 demand is expected to nearly double to $88bn as population increases in India & China and demand from Europe expands.
Europe accounts for c.50%
of global imports for use in bio-diesels, heat and power. Palm is used widely in cosmetics, sweets, processed foods ice cream, jet engines and even clothes in fact hundreds of daily use products.
Many wish to ban palm from the planet but by doing so your shifting the problem onto another commodity that uses more space and yields 8x
less than palm in fact palm produces 35% of all veg oils on only 10% of the land allocated to oil crops. Check soya being planted in vast swathes of the Amazon.
Some commentators say it's necessary for the planet's healthy future as the oil is an ideal substitute for hydrogenated oils, the "trans fats" that food processors love and experts hate. Most home cooking in Asian households use Palm as its widely and cheaply available and also stays stable for long periods without going rancid which is ideal for home cooking.
Asia is the largest mrkt by far for palm usage. In Indonesia many millions earn their living from oil, it may be as high as 20m and our allocated land in the form of smallholdings
(as much as 90%) to earn a living and bring up their families with benefits to the local economy.
Finally a mounting problem for the industry is buyers are not prepared to pay extra for the certified sustainable oil which costs producers c.$20 more to market.
Sustainable production has jumped to 14m tons annually (20% of global) but only 50% of that is sold as expenses are higher and a $30 premium per ton is unattractive.
Consequently producers are stock piling palm or selling below cost.
Consumers want the cert sustainable oil but won't pay the extra. They must play their part.
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