RSPO Secretariat Palm Oil Nursery (1) Suite A-06-04, Plaza ... · PDF fileRSPO Palm Oil...
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RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Palm Oil “It has the scent of violets, the taste of olive oil and a colour which tinges food like saffron but is more attractive” – Ca’da Mosto, a 15th century explorer on discovering palm oil – Palm oil from the flesh Palm kernel oil from the seed FACTSHEET Origin The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an ancient plant that still grows wild in West Africa while also cultivated there and across the tropics. Its oil, extracted from its fruits, has been used as food and medicine through the ages, the earliest archaelogical evidence suggesting so being an earthenware jar containing residues of palm oil in a 5,000-year-old Egyptian tomb. The Industrial Revolution in nineteenth century Europe sparked the international trade in palm oil when demand soared for it as a lubricant for steam engines and other machinery and for soap. The palm oil trade offered an alternative to the illegal slave trade and contributed to the eventual decline of the latter in West Africa. In 1848, the Dutch brought the first African oil palm seedlings to the Far East that later spawned the Southeast Asian oil palm industry. Uses Today, palm oil is so versatile that we don’t realise its omnipresence in our everyday lives. The oil palm fruit produces two oils - palm oil from the fleshy mesocarp and palm kernel oil from the seed or kernel. Palm oil is used primarily in food products: cooking oil, shortening, margarine, milk fat replacer and cocoa butter substitute. Palm kernel oil is mostly used in the oleochemical industry for making soap, detergent, toiletries and cosmetics. New uses for palm oil have emerged in recent years. For example, unstable and at times soaring petroleum prices and increasing concern about global warming have increased the demand for palm oil as a feedstock for biodiesel, a renewable and green substitute for diesel. In addition, nutritional studies have found palm oil to be one of the richest and most potent natural sources of Vitamin E, and it is now being encapsulated and sold as a dietary supplement. Apart from the oil, every part of the palm can be utilised. Palm kernel residue is used in animal feed. The shell, after cracking and removing the kernels, is used as a fuel in many industrial burners and to produce activated charcoal. The fronds, trunks and empty fruit bunches have been used to make fibre boards and chipboards for furniture and even fibre mats to fight erosion and desertification. Top-selling Palm oil is today the most produced vegetable oil in the world in terms of production - 37 million metric tonnes (Oil World, 2006). Spurred by rigorous R&D to improve oil palm productivity and blessed with suitable temperature and rainfall for the crop, Malaysia and Indonesia have emerged as the leading producers, they account for 86% of global production. As a result, the palm oil industry is a giant economic pillar that has helped to alleviate rural poverty through such development programmes as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) schemes in Malaysia and Plasma-Nucleus Estate Programmes in Indonesia. Other palm oil producing countries are Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, India and Brazil.
Transcript of RSPO Secretariat Palm Oil Nursery (1) Suite A-06-04, Plaza ... · PDF fileRSPO Palm Oil...
RSPORoundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm Oil“It has the scent of violets, the taste of olive oil and a colour which tinges food like sa�ron but is
more attractive” – Ca’da Mosto, a 15th century explorer on discovering palm oil –
Production Process
Nursery (1)Seedlings are raised in the nursery for about 12 months prior to transplanting in the �eld.
Harvesting and Collection (2)After about 24 to 30 months, the oil palm starts to yield fruit in compact bunches called fresh fruit bunches (FFB). Harvesting involves cutting ripe bunches manually using a chisel or sickle. Collection of harvested fruits is either done manually, sometimes with a wheelbarrow, or mechanically using a tractor-mounted grabber with trailer.
Extraction (3)To preserve the freshness and quality of palm oil, the FFB are preferably sent to the mill for extraction within 24 hours of harvesting. The FFB are steamed under high pressure to sterilise, loosen and soften the fruits before they are stripped from their stalks and mechanically pressed to extract the oil. No solvents are used to express the oil.
Re�ning (4)The extracted oil from the mill is called Crude Palm Oil (CPO). The CPO is sent to a re�nery where impurities, colours (by bleaching), and odours (by deodorising) are removed. The re�nery would also separate the solid (palm stearin) and liquid (palm olein) fractions oil to cater to a wide range of uses.
SustainabilityOil palm is entirely GMO-free and produces up to 10 times more oil per unit area than soybean, rape or sun�ower (see Figure 1). Oil palm produces more than 34% (palm and palm kernel oil) of the world’s eight major vegetable oils on less than 5% of the total area under oil crops (see Figure 2). This means that, to produce the same volume of oil, oil palm requires less land (see Figure 3).
Although oil palm is a more sustainable producer of vegetable oil than other oil crops, there is concern that the growing demand of palm oil for food and biofuel could lead to rapid and ill-managed expansion of palm oil production and result in serious environmen-tal and social consequences such as deforesta-tion, loss of natural habitats, illegal �res and land con�icts with indigenous people.
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainability, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global sustain-ability standards developed through involvement of all stakeholders.
Contact us
RSPO SecretariatSuite A-06-04, Plaza Mont Kiara 2, Jalan Kiara50480 Kuala Lumpur MalaysiaTel: +603-6203 5969Fax: +603-6203 5869Email: [email protected]
RSPO Indonesia Liaison O�ceSuite 217 Wisma Metropolitan II, 6th FloorJalan Jendral Sudirman Kav. 29Jakarta 12920 IndonesiaTel: +62 21 3004 8080Fax: +62 21 3004 8081Email: [email protected]
www.rspo.org
Soybean42.5%
Coconut4.2%
Oil Palm4.8%
Rape12.2%
Sunflower10.7%
Groundnut9.9%
Cotton15.7%
Soybean29.8%
Coconut2.6%
Palm Oil34.7%
Rapeseed15.5% Sunflower
9.4%
Groundnut3.8%
Cotton4.2%
Figure 2: Planted Crops Area (left) and Production of Major Vegetable Oil (right)
Figure 1: Oil Productivity of Major Oil Crops Figure 3: Energy Balance of Major Oil Crops
Source: Oil World, Feb 2007
Source: Oil World Annual 2006Source: Carl Bek-Nielsen, “Options for the World”, Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine (Jul-Sep 2007)
Oil Palm
Oil Palm
3.66
19
182
Input energy
20
50
23
70
0.6
0.46
0.36
tonn
es/h
a/ye
ar
Rape
Rapeseed
Sunflower
Soybean
Soybean
Output energy
1
2
Palm oilfrom the flesh
Palm kernel oil from the seed
FA C T S H E E T
3
4
OriginThe oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an ancient plant that still grows wild in West Africa while also cultivated there and across the tropics. Its oil, extracted from its fruits, has been used as food and medicine through the ages, the earliest archaelogical evidence suggesting so being an earthenware jar containing residues of palm oil in a 5,000-year-old Egyptian tomb.
The Industrial Revolution in nineteenth century Europe sparked the international trade in palm oil when demand soared for it as a lubricant for steam engines and other machinery and for soap. The palm oil trade o�ered an alternative to the illegal slave trade and
contributed to the eventual decline of the latter in West Africa. In 1848, the Dutch brought the �rst African oil palm seedlings to the Far East that later spawned the Southeast Asian oil palm industry.
UsesToday, palm oil is so versatile that we don’t realise its omnipresence in our everyday lives.
The oil palm fruit produces two oils - palm oil from the �eshy mesocarp and palm kernel oil from the seed or kernel. Palm oil is used primarily in food products: cooking oil, shortening, margarine, milk fat replacer and
cocoa butter substitute. Palm kernel oil is mostly used in the oleochemical industry for making soap, detergent, toiletries and cosmetics.
New uses for palm oil have emerged in recent years. For example, unstable and at times soaring petroleum prices and increasing concern about global warming have increased the demand for
palm oil as a feedstock for biodiesel, a renewable and green substitute for diesel. In addition, nutritional studies have found palm oil to be one of the richest and most potent natural sources of Vitamin E, and it is now being encapsulated and sold as a dietary supplement.
Apart from the oil, every part of the palm can be utilised. Palm kernel residue is used in animal feed. The shell, after cracking and removing the kernels, is used as a fuel in many industrial burners and to produce activated charcoal. The fronds, trunks and empty fruit bunches have been used to make �bre boards and chipboards for furniture and even �bre mats to �ght erosion and deserti�cation.
Top-sellingPalm oil is today the most produced vegetable oil in the world in terms of production - 37 million metric tonnes (Oil World, 2006).
Spurred by rigorous R&D to improve oil palm productivity and blessed with suitable temperature and rainfall for the crop, Malaysia and Indonesia have emerged as the leading producers, they account for 86% of global production. As a result, the palm oil industry is a giant economic pillar that has helped to alleviate rural poverty through such development programmes as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) schemes in Malaysia and Plasma-Nucleus Estate Programmes in Indonesia.
Other palm oil producing countries are Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, India and Brazil.
RSPORoundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm Oil“It has the scent of violets, the taste of olive oil and a colour which tinges food like sa�ron but is
more attractive” – Ca’da Mosto, a 15th century explorer on discovering palm oil –
Production Process
Nursery (1)Seedlings are raised in the nursery for about 12 months prior to transplanting in the �eld.
Harvesting and Collection (2)After about 24 to 30 months, the oil palm starts to yield fruit in compact bunches called fresh fruit bunches (FFB). Harvesting involves cutting ripe bunches manually using a chisel or sickle. Collection of harvested fruits is either done manually, sometimes with a wheelbarrow, or mechanically using a tractor-mounted grabber with trailer.
Extraction (3)To preserve the freshness and quality of palm oil, the FFB are preferably sent to the mill for extraction within 24 hours of harvesting. The FFB are steamed under high pressure to sterilise, loosen and soften the fruits before they are stripped from their stalks and mechanically pressed to extract the oil. No solvents are used to express the oil.
Re�ning (4)The extracted oil from the mill is called Crude Palm Oil (CPO). The CPO is sent to a re�nery where impurities, colours (by bleaching), and odours (by deodorising) are removed. The re�nery would also separate the solid (palm stearin) and liquid (palm olein) fractions oil to cater to a wide range of uses.
SustainabilityOil palm is entirely GMO-free and produces up to 10 times more oil per unit area than soybean, rape or sun�ower (see Figure 1). Oil palm produces more than 34% (palm and palm kernel oil) of the world’s eight major vegetable oils on less than 5% of the total area under oil crops (see Figure 2). This means that, to produce the same volume of oil, oil palm requires less land (see Figure 3).
Although oil palm is a more sustainable producer of vegetable oil than other oil crops, there is concern that the growing demand of palm oil for food and biofuel could lead to rapid and ill-managed expansion of palm oil production and result in serious environmen-tal and social consequences such as deforesta-tion, loss of natural habitats, illegal �res and land con�icts with indigenous people.
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainability, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global sustain-ability standards developed through involvement of all stakeholders.
Contact us
RSPO SecretariatSuite A-06-04, Plaza Mont Kiara 2, Jalan Kiara50480 Kuala Lumpur MalaysiaTel: +603-6203 5969Fax: +603-6203 5869Email: [email protected]
RSPO Indonesia Liaison O�ceSuite 217 Wisma Metropolitan II, 6th FloorJalan Jendral Sudirman Kav. 29Jakarta 12920 IndonesiaTel: +62 21 3004 8080Fax: +62 21 3004 8081Email: [email protected]
www.rspo.org
Soybean42.5%
Coconut4.2%
Oil Palm4.8%
Rape12.2%
Sunflower10.7%
Groundnut9.9%
Cotton15.7%
Soybean29.8%
Coconut2.6%
Palm Oil34.7%
Rapeseed15.5% Sunflower
9.4%
Groundnut3.8%
Cotton4.2%
Figure 2: Planted Crops Area (left) and Production of Major Vegetable Oil (right)
Figure 1: Oil Productivity of Major Oil Crops Figure 3: Energy Balance of Major Oil Crops
Source: Oil World, Feb 2007
Source: Oil World Annual 2006Source: Carl Bek-Nielsen, “Options for the World”, Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine (Jul-Sep 2007)
Oil Palm
Oil Palm
3.66
19
182
Input energy
20
50
23
70
0.6
0.46
0.36
tonn
es/h
a/ye
ar
Rape
Rapeseed
Sunflower
Soybean
Soybean
Output energy
1
2
Palm oilfrom the flesh
Palm kernel oil from the seed
FA C T S H E E T
3
4
OriginThe oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an ancient plant that still grows wild in West Africa while also cultivated there and across the tropics. Its oil, extracted from its fruits, has been used as food and medicine through the ages, the earliest archaelogical evidence suggesting so being an earthenware jar containing residues of palm oil in a 5,000-year-old Egyptian tomb.
The Industrial Revolution in nineteenth century Europe sparked the international trade in palm oil when demand soared for it as a lubricant for steam engines and other machinery and for soap. The palm oil trade o�ered an alternative to the illegal slave trade and
contributed to the eventual decline of the latter in West Africa. In 1848, the Dutch brought the �rst African oil palm seedlings to the Far East that later spawned the Southeast Asian oil palm industry.
UsesToday, palm oil is so versatile that we don’t realise its omnipresence in our everyday lives.
The oil palm fruit produces two oils - palm oil from the �eshy mesocarp and palm kernel oil from the seed or kernel. Palm oil is used primarily in food products: cooking oil, shortening, margarine, milk fat replacer and
cocoa butter substitute. Palm kernel oil is mostly used in the oleochemical industry for making soap, detergent, toiletries and cosmetics.
New uses for palm oil have emerged in recent years. For example, unstable and at times soaring petroleum prices and increasing concern about global warming have increased the demand for
palm oil as a feedstock for biodiesel, a renewable and green substitute for diesel. In addition, nutritional studies have found palm oil to be one of the richest and most potent natural sources of Vitamin E, and it is now being encapsulated and sold as a dietary supplement.
Apart from the oil, every part of the palm can be utilised. Palm kernel residue is used in animal feed. The shell, after cracking and removing the kernels, is used as a fuel in many industrial burners and to produce activated charcoal. The fronds, trunks and empty fruit bunches have been used to make �bre boards and chipboards for furniture and even �bre mats to �ght erosion and deserti�cation.
Top-sellingPalm oil is today the most produced vegetable oil in the world in terms of production - 37 million metric tonnes (Oil World, 2006).
Spurred by rigorous R&D to improve oil palm productivity and blessed with suitable temperature and rainfall for the crop, Malaysia and Indonesia have emerged as the leading producers, they account for 86% of global production. As a result, the palm oil industry is a giant economic pillar that has helped to alleviate rural poverty through such development programmes as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) schemes in Malaysia and Plasma-Nucleus Estate Programmes in Indonesia.
Other palm oil producing countries are Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, India and Brazil.
