Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) was first introduced to Malaysia as an
ornamental plant in 1870. Since 1960, planted area had increased at a
rapid pace. In 1985, 1.5 million hectares were planted with palm tree,
and it had increased to 4.3 million hectares in 2007. It has become the
most important commodity crop in Malaysia. As of 2011, the total planted
area was 4.917 million hectares.
The oil palm planted currently is the tenera hybrid which yields about
4.0 t of palm oil per hectare, together with 0.5 t palm kernel oil and
0.6 t palm kernel cake. Oil palm has an economic life of about 25 years.
The harvesting of the palm could begin 30 months after field planting. 
The palm fruit is about the size of a small plum and is borne in
large bunches weighing between 10 kg - 50 kg. A bunch can have up to
2000 fruits, each consisting of a hard kernel (seed) within a shell
(endocarp) which in turn is surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp. The
mesocarp is made up of about 49% oil and about 50% kernel.
The two oils (palm oil and palm kernel oil) have very different
compositions. Palm oil (from the mesocarp) contains mainly palmitic acid
(C16:0) and oleic acid (C18:1); the two most common fatty acids in
natural oils and fats, and is about 50% saturated. Palm kernel oil is
more than 80% saturated and contains mainly lauric acid (C12:0)
