Palm oil is also a primary substitute for rapeseed oil in Europe, which too is experiencing high levels of demand for bio-diesel fuel production purposes. The palm tree fruit extract is the most productive energy crop the world has. One hectare of oil palm plantation has the capacity to produce nearly 6,000 litres of crude bio-diesel. In comparison, soybeans and corn generate only about 400 and 200 litres per hectare, respectively.
The palm trees can be grown on sunny tropical region. Most plantation lands are cleared through administering the slash-and burn technique. Palm trees are very versatile and are the highest yielding oilseed crop. For fresh fruit yield, for every 10 tonnes of palm oil, about 1 tonne of palm kernel oil can be obtained. The countries the produce the most crude palm oil are from Southeast Asia mainly Malaysia and Indonesia. Together, both countries account for about 80 percent of the world's production.
Malaysia is the single largest producer with more than 50 percent of the world's production, while Indonesia follows with almost 30 percent of global production. Between 1960 and 2000, global palm oil production increased 10 fold from 2 million tons in 1960 to 24 million tons in 2000. As the largest producer and exporter of palm oil and palm oil products, Malaysia has an important role to play in fulfilling the growing global need for oils and fats in general.
