History: Palm Oil Activities Photo, Part One

 

 Oil Palm Tree 1906

 

Making Palm Oil ; The National Industry of Southern Nigeria

Native Women Manufacturing Palm Oil, 1906

*wooden trough like a canoe, full of palm oil*

 

Filling Palm Oil Barrels, Southern Nigeria, 1902

Exports of Palm Oil & Palm Kernel Oil

Palm oil is the most traded oil in the world. In 2011, its exports reached almost 39.04 million tonnes of which Malaysia’s share was 46%. To add value to crude palm oil and make it ready for human consumption, Malaysian manufacturers have installed the most extensive and efficient refining and fractionation facilities. This had been most successful during the years of 1974 to 1999, when the exports of processed palm oil grew from 0.9 to 8.9 million tonnes. In 2011, Malaysia’s export of palm oil rose to 17.99 million tonnes, after reaching a high of 16.66 million tonnes in 2010. Similar trend in export of palm kernel oil was seen in the same period, with the volume reaching 1.17 million tonnes in 2011.

Production of Palm Oil & Palm Kernel Oil

Palm oil production in Malaysia has increased over the years, from 4.1 million tonnes in 1985 to 6.1 million tonnes in 1990 and to 16.9 million tonnes in 2010. It reached 18.9 million tonnes in 2011. The production is projected to reach 19.4 million tonnes in 2012. The Malaysian palm oil industry easily meets the local oils and fats demand, and the excess can be exported. Palm kernel oil production in 1999 was 1.3 million tonnes, and reached 4.7 million tonnes in 2011. Prior to 1970, most of the palm kernel produced was exported. Since 1979, they were crushed locally to produce crude palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake.

Malaysia is now the second largest producer of palm oil in the world; after being overtaken by Indonesia in 2006. Since 1985, palm oil has become the second most consumed oil in the world, after soyabean oil. Malaysia’s share of global production in 1999 was 51% but in 2011, it decreased to 38%.

Table 1 shows the productivity of various oilseed crops in terms of their oil content and oil yield. It is evident that the oil palm is the highest yielding oil crop, capable of producing 4.27 t of palm oil and palm kernel oil per hectare per year.