Agriculture and Environment: Commodities

Table of Facts : Palm Oil (Elaeis guineensis and E. oleifera)

Production
Area Under Cultivation - 9.7 Million ha
Global Production - 118.5 Million MT (Fruit); 17.7 Million MT (Oil)
Average Productivity - 12,224 kg/ha (Fruit); 1,844 kg/ha (Oil)
Producer Price - $81 per MT
Producer Production Value - $9,560 Million

International Trade
Share of World Production - 49%
Exports - 8.7 million MT
Average Price - $456 per MT
Value - $3,969 Million

Principal Producing Countries/Blocs
(by weight)
Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ecuador

Principal Exporting Countries/Blocs
Indonesia, Malaysia

Principal Importing Countries/Blocs
European Union, India, China, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, Egypt, Bangladesh

Major Environmental Impacts

• Habitat conversion, particularly tropical forests
• Soil erosion and degradation
• Threats to key species
• Effluents from processing
  

Potential to Improve

• High
• Land use planning and zoning can reduce many impacts
• BMPs are known
• Investors and buyers are interested in reducing the impact of production
• BMP-based certification programs are in development
  

Source: FAO 2002. All data for 2000.