Edible oil imports of India during 2010 are likely to increase by 9,00,000 tonne to 9.5 million tonne,..Keywords: 

Edible Oil  

India. imports.  Sun, 02/14/2010 - 21:22 — admin Indian edible oil sector in 2010 will be stable.

Palm oil

Palm oil from Ghana with its natural dark colour visible, 2 litres

Palm oil block showing the lighter colour that results from boiling.

Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees.

Palm oil is extracted from the pulp[1] of thefruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is

derived from the kernel (seed) of the oil palm[2] and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the

coconut (Cocos nucifera). Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because it contains a high amount

of beta-carotene.

Palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil are three of the few highly saturated vegetable fats. Palm oil is

semi-solid at room temperatures. Palm oil contains several saturated and unsaturated fats in the forms

of glyceryl laurate (0.1%, saturated), myristate (1%, saturated), palmitate(44%,

saturated), stearate (5%,

saturated), oleate (39%, monounsaturated), linoleate (10%, polyunsaturated), and linolenate (0.3%,

polyunsaturated).[3] Palm kernel oil and coconut oil are more highly saturated than palm oil. Like

all vegetable oils, palm oil does not containcholesterol (found in unrefined animal fats),[4][5] although

saturated fat intake increases both LDL [6]  and HDL [7]  cholesterol.

Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts

of Brazil. Its increasing use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is buoyed by its

lower cost[8] and the high oxidative stability (saturation) of the refined product when used for frying.[9][10]

Contents

 [hide]

1   History

2   Research

3   Nutrition

4   Red palm oil

5   Refined, bleached, deodorized palm oil

6   Uses

o 6.1   Biodiesel

7   Market

8   Regional production

o 8.1   Indonesia

o 8.2   Malaysia

o 8.3   Colombia

o 8.4   Other producers

8.4.1   Benin

8.4.2   Kenya

8.4.3   Ghana

9   Impacts

o 9.1   Social

o 9.2   Environmental

o 9.3   Medical

o 9.4   Health

9.4.1   Blood lipid and cholesterol effects

9.4.1.1   Comparison with animal saturated fat

10   See also

11   References

12   External links

[edit]History

Oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis)

Palm oil (from the African oil palm, Elaeis guineensis) has long been recognized in West

African countries, and is widely used as a cooking oil. European merchants trading with West Africa

occasionally purchased palm oil for use in Europe, but since the oil was of a lower quality than olive

oil, palm oil remained rare outside West Africa.[citation needed] In the Asante Confederacy, state-

owned slaves built large plantations of oil palmtrees, while in the neighbouring Kingdom of Dahomey,

King Ghezo passed a law in 1856 forbidding his subjects from cutting down oil palms.

Palm oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders, for use as an

industrial lubricant for machinery during Britain's Industrial Revolution[citation needed]. Palm oil formed the

basis of soap products, such as Lever Brothers' (now Unilever) "Sunlight Soap", and the

AmericanPalmolive brand.[11] By c. 1870, palm oil constituted the primary export of some West African

countries such as Ghana and Nigeria, although this was overtaken by cocoa in the 1880s.[citation needed]

[edit]Research

In the 1960s, research and development (R&D) in oil palm breeding began to expand after Malaysia's

Department of Agriculture established an exchange program with West African economies and four

private plantations formed the Oil Palm Genetics Laboratory.[12] The government also established Kolej

Serdang, which became the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia(UPM) in the 1970s to train agricultural and

agro-industrial engineers and agro-business graduates to conduct research in the field.

In 1979, following strong lobbying from oil palm planters and support from the Malaysian Agricultural

Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and UPM, the government set up the Palm Oil

Research Institute of Malaysia (Porim).[13] B.C. Sekhar was instrumental in helping Porim recruit and

train scientists to undertake R&D in oil palm tree breeding, palm oil nutrition and

potential oleochemical use. Sekhar, as founder and chairman, pushed Porim to be a public-and-

private-coordinated institution. As a result, Porim (renamed Malaysian Palm Oil Board in 2000)

became Malaysia's top research entity commercializing 20% of its innovations, compared to 5%

among local universities.[citation needed] While MPOB has gained international prominence, its relevance is

dependent on churning out breakthrough findings in the dynamic oil crop genetics, dietary fat nutrition

and process engineering landscapes.

[edit]Nutrition

Further information: palmitic acid

Many processed foods contain palm oil as an ingredient.[14]

Palm oil is composed of fatty acids, esterified with glycerol just like any ordinary fat. It is high in

saturated fatty acids. Palm oil gives its name to the 16-carbon saturated fatty acidpalmitic acid.

Monounsaturated oleic acid is also a constituent of palm oil. Unrefined palm oil is a large natural

source of tocotrienol, part of the vitamin E family.[15]

The approximate concentration of fatty acids (FAs) in palm oil is as follows:[16]

Fatty acid content of palm oilType of fatty acid pctPalmitic saturated C16    44.3%Stearic saturated C18    4.6%Myristic saturated C14    1.0%Oleic monounsaturated C18    38.7%Linoleic polyunsaturated C18    10.5%Other/Unknown 0.9%

red: Saturated; orange: Mono unsaturated; blue: Poly unsaturatedFatty acid content of palm oil

Type of fatty acid pctPalmitic saturated C16    44.3%Stearic saturated C18    4.6%

Myristic saturated C14    1.0%Oleic monounsaturated C18    38.7%Linoleic polyunsaturated C18    10.5%Other/Unknown 0.9%red: Saturated; orange: Mono unsaturated; blue: Poly unsaturated

[edit]Red palm oil

Red palm oil gets its name from its characteristic dark red color, which comes from carotenes such

as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene—the same nutrients that give tomatoes, carrots and

other fruits and vegetables their rich colors.

Red palm oil contains at least 10 other carotenes, along with tocopherols and tocotrienols (members of

the vitamin E family), CoQ10, phytosterols, and glycolipids.[17] In a 2007 animal study, South African

scientists found consumption of red palm oil significantly decreased p38-MAPK phosphorylation in rat

hearts subjected to a high-cholesterol diet.[18]

Since the mid-1990s, red palm oil has been cold-pressed and bottled for use as cooking oil, and

blended into mayonnaise and salad oil.[19] Red palm oil antioxidants like tocotrienols and carotenes are

also fortified into foods for specific health use and anti-aging cosmetics.[20][21][22]

In a 2004 joint-study between Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and Malaysian Palm Oil Board,

the scientists found cookies, being higher in fat content than bread, are a better vehicle for red palm

oil phytonutrients.[23]

In a 2009 study, scientists in Spain tested the acrolein emission rates from the deep frying of potatoes

in red palm, olive and polyunsaturated oils. They found higher acrolein emission rates from the

polyunsaturated oils. The scientists characterized red palm oil as "mono-unsaturated". [24] It gives an

attractive colour to french fries.[25]

[edit]Refined, bleached, deodorized palm oil

Palm oil products are made using milling and refining processes: first using fractionation, with

crystallization and separation processes to obtain solid (stearin), and liquid (olein) fractions. Then

melting and degumming removes impurities. Then the oil is filtered and bleached. Next, physical

refining removes smells and coloration, to produce refined bleached deodorized palm oil, or RBDPO,

and free sheer fatty acids, which are used as an important raw material in the manufacture

of soaps, washing powder and other hygiene and personal care products. RBDPO is the basic oil

product sold on the world's commodity markets, although many companies fractionate it further

into palm olein, for cooking oil or other products.[26]

Splitting of oils and fats by hydrolysis, or under basic conditions saponification, yields fatty acids, with

glycerin (glycerol) as a byproduct. The split-off fatty acids are a mixture ranging from C4 to C18,

depending on the type of oil/fat.[27][28]

Types of refineries

Different types of refineries are as follows:

oil refinery , which converts crude oil into high-octane motor fuel (gasoline/petrol), diesel

oil, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), jet aircraft fuel, kerosene, heating fuel oils, lubricating

oils, asphalt and petroleum coke;

natural gas processing  plant, which purifies and converts raw natural gas into residential,

commercial and industrial fuel gas, and also recovers natural gas liquids (NGL) such

asethane, propane, butanes and pentanes;

vegetable oil refinery

An oil refinery.

Important refinery Mexico In Minatitlán.

[edit]A typical oil refineryMain article: Oil refinery

The image below is a schematic flow diagram of a typical oil refinery depicting various unit

processes and the flow of intermediate products between the inlet crude oil feedstock and the

final products. The diagram depicts only one of the hundreds of different configurations. It does

not include any of the usual facilities providing utilities such as steam, cooling water, and electric

power as well as storage tanks for crude oil feedstock and for intermediate products and end

products.[1][2]

Schematic flow diagram of a typical oil refinery.

[edit]Uses

Derivatives of palmitic acid were used in combination with naphtha during World War II to

produce napalm (aluminum naphthenate and aluminum palmitate).[29]

Many processed foods contain palm oil as an ingredient.[14]

[edit]BiodieselMain article: Biodiesel

Palm oil, like other vegetable oils, can be used to create biodiesel, as either a simply processed palm

oil mixed with petrodiesel, or processed through transesterification to create a palm oil methyl

ester blend, which meets the international EN 14214 specification. Glycerin is a byproduct

of transesterification. The actual process used to produce biodiesel around the world varies between

countries and the requirements of different markets. Next-generation biofuel production processes are

also being tested in relatively small trial quantities.

The IEA predicts that biofuels usage in Asian countries will remain modest. But as a major producer of

palm oil, the Malaysian government is encouraging the production of biofuel feedstock and the building

of palm oil biodiesel plants. Domestically, Malaysia is preparing to change from diesel to bio-fuels by 2008, including drafting legislation that will make the switch mandatory.

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (August 2010)

From 2007, all diesel sold in Malaysia must contain 5% palm oil. Malaysia is emerging as one of the

leading biofuel producers, with 91 palm oil plants approved and a handful now in operation. [30]

On 16 December 2007, Malaysia opened its first biodiesel plant in the state of Pahang, with an annual

capacity of 100,000 tonnes, and which also produces by-products in the form of 4,000 tonnes of palm

fatty acid distillate and 12,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical grade glycerine.[31] Neste Oil of Finland plans

to produce 800,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year from Malaysian palm oil in a new Singapore refinery

from 2010, which will make it the largest biofuel plant in the world,[32] and 170,000 tpa from its first

second-generation plant in Finland from 2007-8, which can refine fuel from a variety of sources. Neste

and the Finnish government are using this paraffinic fuel in some public buses in the Helsinki area as a

small scale pilot.[33][34]

First generation biodiesel production from palm oil is in demand globally. Palm oil is also a primary

substitute for rapeseed oil in Europe, which too is experiencing new demand for biodiesel purposes.

Palm oil producers are investing heavily in the refineries needed for biodiesel. In Malaysia companies

have been merging, buying others out and forming alliances to obtain the economies of scale needed

to handle the high costs caused by increased feedstock prices. New refineries are being built across

Asia and Europe.[35]

As the food vs. fuel debate mounts, research is turning to biodiesel production from waste. In

Malaysia, an estimated 50,000 tonnes of used frying oils, both vegetable oils and animal fats, are

disposed of yearly without treatment as wastes. In a 2006 study researchers found used frying oil

(mainly palm olein), after pre-treatment with silica gel, is a suitable feedstock for conversion to methyl

esters by catalytic reaction using sodium hydroxide. The methyl esters produced have fuel properties

comparable to those of petroleum diesel, and can be used in unmodified diesel engines.[36]

A 2009 study by scientists at Malaysian Science University concluded that palm oil, compared to other

vegetable oils, is a healthy source of edible oil and at the same time, available in quantities that can

satisfy global demand for biodiesel. Oil palm planting and palm oil consumption circumvents the food

vs. fuel debate because it has the capacity to fulfill both demands simultaneously.[37] By 2050, a British

scientist estimates global demand for edible oils will probably be around 240 million tonnes, nearly

twice 2008 consumption. Most of the additional oil may be palm oil, which has the lowest production

cost of the major oils, but soybean oil production will probably also increase. An additional

12,000,000 hectares (46,000 sq mi) of oil palms may be required, if average yields continue to rise as

in the past. This need not be at the expense of forest; oil palm planted on anthropogenic grassland

could supply all the oil required for edible purposes in 2050.[38]

[edit]Market

According to Hamburg-based Oil World trade journal, in 2008, global production of oils and fats stood

at 160 million tonnes. Palm oil and palm kernel oil were jointly the largest contributor, accounting for 48

million tonnes or 30% of the total output. Soybean oil came in second with 37 million tonnes (23%).

About 38% of the oils and fats produced in the world were shipped across oceans. Of the 60.3 million

tonnes of oils and fats exported around the world, palm oil and palm kernel oil make up close to

60%; Malaysia, with 45% of the market share, dominates the palm oil trade.[39]

[edit]Regional production

Palm oil output in 2006

[edit]Indonesia

As of 2009, Indonesia was the largest producer of palm oil, surpassing Malaysia in 2006, producing

more than 20.9 million tonnes. The Indonesian aspires to become the world's top producer of palm oil.[40] FAO data show production increased by over 400% between 1994–2004, to over 8.66 million metric

tonnes.

In addition to servicing traditional markets, Indonesia is looking to put more effort into producing

biodiesel. Major local and global companies are building mills and refineries, including PT. Astra Agro

Lestari terbuka (150,000 tpa biodiesel refinery), PT. Bakrie Group (a biodiesel factory and new

plantations), Surya Dumai Group (biodiesel refinery). Cargill (sometimes operating through CTP

Holdings of Singapore, is building new refineries and mills in Malaysia and Indonesia, expanding

its Rotterdam refinery to handle 300,000 tpa of palm oil, acquiring plantations in Sumatra, Kalimantan,

the Indonesian peninsula and Papua New Guinea). Robert Kuok's Wilmar International Limited has

plantations and 25 refineries across Indonesia, to supply feedstock to new biodiesel refineries in

Singapore, Riau, Indonesia and Rotterdam.[35]

[edit]Malaysia

In 2008, Malaysia produced 17.7 million tonnes of palm oil on 4,500,000 hectares (17,400 sq mi) of

land,[39] and was the second largest producer of palm oil, employing more than 570,000 people.[41] Malaysia is the world's second largest exporter of palm oil. About 60% of palm oil exports from

Malaysia are shipped to China, the European Union, Pakistan, United States and India. They are

mostly made into cooking oil, margarine, specialty fats and oleochemicals.

In December 2006, the Malaysian government initiated merger of Sime Darby Berhad, Golden Hope

Plantations Berhad and Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad to create the world’s largest listed oil palm

plantation player.[42] In a landmark deal valued at RM31 billion, the merger involved the businesses of

eight listed companies controlled by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and the Employees

Provident Fund (EPF). A special purpose vehicle, Synergy Drive Sdn Bhd, offered to acquire all the

businesses including assets and liabilities of the eight listed companies. With 543,000 hectares of

plantation in a landbank, the merger resulted in an oil palm plantation entity that could produce 2.5

million tonnes of palm oil or 5% of global production in 2006. A year later, the merger completed and

the entity was renamed Sime Darby Berhad.[43]

[edit]Colombia

In the 1960s, about 18,000 hectares (69 sq mi) were planted with palm. Colombia has now become

the largest palm oil producer in the Americas, and 35% of its product is exported as biofuel. In 2006,

the Colombian plantation owners' association, Fedepalma, reported that oil palm cultivation was

expanding to 1,000,000 hectares (3,900 sq mi). This expansion is being funded, in part, by the United

States Agency for International Development to resettle disarmed paramilitary members on arable

land, and by the Colombian government, which proposes to expand land use for exportable cash

crops to 7,000,000 hectares (27,000 sq mi) by 2020, including oil palms. Fedepalma states that its

members are following sustainable guidelines,[44]

Some Afro-Colombians claim that some of these new plantations have been expropriated from them

after they had been driven away through poverty and civil war, while armed guards intimidate the

remaining people to further depopulate the land, while coca production and trafficking follows in their

wake.[45]

[edit]Other producers[edit]Benin

Palm is native to the wetlands of western Africa, and south Benin already hosts many palm

plantations. Its 'Agricultural Revival Programme' has identified many thousands of hectares of land as

suitable for new oil palm export plantations. In spite of the economic benefits, Non-governmental

organisations (NGOs), such as Nature Tropicale, claim biofuels will compete with domestic food

production in some existing prime agricultural sites. Other areas comprise peat land, whose drainage

would have a deleterious environmental impact. They are also concerned genetically modified plants

will be introduced for the first time into the region, jeopardizing the current premium paid for their non-

GM crops.[46]

[edit]Kenya

Kenya's domestic production of edible oils covers about a third of its annual demand, estimated at

around 380,000 metric tonnes. The rest is imported at a cost of around US$140 million a year, making

edible oil the country's second most important import after petroleum. Since 1993 a new hybrid variety

of cold-tolerant, high-yielding oil palm has been promoted by theFood and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations in western Kenya. As well as alleviating the country's deficit of edible oils while

providing an important cash crop, it is claimed to have environmental benefits in the region, because it

does not compete against food crops or native vegetation and it provides stabilisation for the soil. [47]

[edit]Ghana

Ghana has a lot of palm nuts vegetation, which can become an important contributor to the agriculture

of the Black Star region. Although Ghana has multiple palm species, ranging from local palm nuts to

other species locally called agric, it is only marketed locally and to neighboring countries. [citation needed]

[edit]Impacts

[edit]Social

Palm oil producers have been accused of various human-rights violations, from low pay and poor

working conditions[48] to theft of land[49] and murder.[50] However, some social initiatives use palm oil

profits to finance poverty alleviation strategies. Examples include the financing of Magbenteh hospital

in Makeni, Sierra Leone through profits made from palm oil grown by small local farmers,

[51] the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's Food Security Program, which draws on a women-run

cooperative to grow palm oil, the profits of which are reinvested in food security, [52] or the UN Food and

Agriculture Organisation's hybrid oil palm project in Western Kenya, which improves incomes and diets

of local populations.[53]

[edit]EnvironmentalMain article: Environmental impact of palm oil

Palm oil production has been documented as a cause of substantial and often irreversible damage to

the natural environment.[54] Its impacts include: deforestation, habitat loss ofcritically endangered

species such as the Orangutan [55][56][57] and Sumatran Tiger,[58] [59] and a significant increase

in greenhouse gas emissions.[60]

The pollution is exacerbated because many rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia [61] lie atop peat

bogs that store great quantities of carbon that are released when the forests are cut down and the

bogs drained to make way for plantations.

Environmental groups such as Greenpeace claim that the deforestation caused by making way for oil

palm plantations is far more damaging for the climate than the benefits gained by switching to biofuel.[62][63]

Many of the major companies in the vegetable oil economy participate in the Roundtable on

Sustainable Palm Oil, which is trying to address this problem. In 2008 Unilever, a member of the

group, committed to use only palm oil which is certified as sustainable, by ensuring that the large

companies and smallholders that supply it convert to sustainable production by 2015. [64]

Meanwhile, much of the recent investment in new palm plantations for biofuel has been part-funded

through carbon credit projects through the Clean Development Mechanism; however the reputational

risk associated with unsustainable palm plantations in Indonesia has now made many funds wary of

investing there.[65]

[edit]Medical

Although palm oil is applied to wounds for its supposed antimicrobial effects, research does not

confirm its effectiveness.[66]

[edit]Health[edit]Blood lipid and cholesterol effects

The United States' Center for Science in the Public Interest said palm oil, which is high in saturated

and low in polyunsaturated fat, promotes heart disease.[67] The CSPI report cited research that goes

back to 1970[68] and metastudies.[69][70] CSPI also said that The National Heart, Lung and Blood

Institute,[71] World Health Organization (WHO), and other health authorities have urged reduced

consumption of palm oil. WHO states that there is convincing evidence that palmitic acid consumption

contributes to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.[72] 2005 research in Costa Rica

suggests consumption of non-hydrogenated unsaturated oils over palm oil.[73] In 1993, Malaysia's

Institute for Medical Research's head of Cardiovascular Disease Unit Cardiovascular, Diabetes and

Nutrition Centre Dr Tony Ng Kock Wai[74] showed that the cholesterol impact of saturated fats is

affected by its amount at the sn-2 position. Despite the high palmitic acid content (41%) of palm oil,

only 13-14% is present at the sn-2 position.[75]

In an email response to WHO's 2002 draft report, Dr. David Kritchevsky of the Wistar Institute,

Philadelphia denied that there were, at that time, any data showing palm oil consumption

causing atherosclerosis.[76]

However, a 2006 study supported by the National Institutes of Health and the USDA Agricultural

Research Service concluded that palm oil is not a safe substitute for partially hydrogenated fats (trans

fats) in the food industry, because palm oil results in adverse changes in the blood concentrations of

LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B just as trans fat does.[77][78]

[edit]Comparison with animal saturated fat

Not all saturated fats are equally cholesterolemic.[79] Studies have indicated that consumption of palm

olein (which is more unsaturated) reduces blood cholesterol when compared to sources of saturated

fats like coconut oil, dairy and animal fats.[80]

In 1996, Dr Becker of University of Massachusetts stressed that saturated fats in the sn–1 and -3

position of triacylglycerols exhibit different metabolic patterns due to their low absorptivity. Dietary fats

containing saturated fats primarily in sn–1 and -3 positions (e.g., cocoa butter, coconut oil, and palm

oil) have very different biological consequences than those fats in which the saturated fats are

primarily in the sn–2 position (e.g., milk fat and lard). Differences in stereospecific fatty acid location

should be an important consideration in the design and interpretation of lipid nutrition studies and in

the production of specialty food products.[81]

In a 2004 review, Dr German and Dr Dillard, respectively of the University of California, Davis and

Nestle Research Center in Switzerland, concluded that research on how specific saturated fats

contribute to coronary artery disease and on the role each specific saturated fatty acid plays in other

health outcomes is not sufficient to make global recommendations for all persons to remove saturated

fats from their diet because no randomized clinical trials of low-fat diets or low-saturated fat diets of

sufficient duration have been carried out. There is a lack of knowledge of how low saturated fat intake

can be without the risk of deleterious health outcomes. The influence of varying saturated fatty acid

intakes against a background of different individual lifestyles and genetic backgrounds should be the

focus in future studies.[82]

The oil palm has been grown in Malaysia since the 1870s By Charles Clover, Environment Editor 12:01AM BST 10 Jun 2007

Comment

Malaysia, one of the world’s leading growers of palm oil, has hit back at allegations that

Europe's growing use of "green" fuels will increase the destruction of rainforests and great

apes, such as the orang utan.

In March, EU leaders agreed to set a binding climate change target to make biofuel - energy

sources made from plant material - account for 10 per cent of all Europe's transport fuels by

2020.

But the European Commission has since admitted that the objective, which aims to cut

carbon dioxide emissions, may have the unintended consequence of speeding up the

destruction of tropical rainforests and peatlands in South-East Asia - actually increasing, not

reducing, global warming.

Peter Chin, Malaysian minister of plantation industries and commodities, offered a solution to

this problem in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

He favours the certification of palm oil from established plantations under internationally-

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He also argues that palm oil is actually a superior fuel to rape seed, maize and soya - grown

for biofuels in Europe and America - from an environmental point of view.

An independent study commissioned by the Malaysian government has shown that palm oil

requires an input of only 30-40 per cent of fossil fuels to produce a given amount of energy

compared to an input of up to 60 per cent fossil fuels in the process of making biofuels from

maize, rape seed or soya.

The oil palm, which originated in West Africa, has been grown in Malaysia since the British

took it there in the 1870s.

Mainland Malaysia is far more developed than the provinces of Sabah and Sarawak in

Borneo, which have sovereignty over their forests and where timber has long been treated

as a kind of green gold.

There has been persistent criticism from environmentalists over the effect logging in Borneo

has had on biodiversity and native tribes who live in the forest.

Mr Chin points out that in Sarawak the amount of land devoted to agriculture, which includes

oil palm, is only four per cent.

"I think there is a great misconception that we are going wholesale for palm oil," he said.

"In mainland Malaysia, there is hardly any land left that can be converted to palm production.

With only five per cent of our total land mass converted to agriculture, how do you expect the

people to live? Agriculture is the way for them to earn a decent living. Is it wrong to go and

plant palm?"

Europe already imports 2.7 million tons of palm oil a year for use as a vegetable oil in foods

and soaps.

European consumption of plant-based fuels is expected to soar from around three million

tons at present to more than 30 million tons in 2010, driving a boom in imports of palm oil

which is cheaper than other biofuels.

Mr Chin said the Malaysian government supports moves by the EU to have "properly

regulated and supervised agriculture for palm" under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm

Oil - a global, multi-forum set up to encourage the sustainable production and use of palm

oil.

RSPO members include Waitrose, the Body Shop, HSBC and Cargill, the company with

extensive palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

"We have to have palm as a sustainable, long-term crop. That is why we are taking this

initiative," Mr Chin said.

He said that a certification scheme for palm oil was "quite close" and some plantations would

be certified as sustainable by November under a voluntary scheme.

Mr Chin admits that Malaysian palm oil, from established plantations, would be undercut if

there was widespread and unsustainable forest clearance in South America, New Guinea

and Africa for oil palm, so certification of sustainable plantations is in Malaysia's interests.

Indonesia, which has presided over widespread and often illegal clearance of forest for

plantations in the orang utan habitats of Sumatra and Kalimantan, remains a problem.

Between them, Malaysia and Indonesia account for 85 per cent of the world’s production of

palm oil.

Mr Chin said: "We are as concerned about Indonesia as you are. We want Indonesia to

come along with us. We are appealing to the EU to be reasonable about it. We want to get

into sustainable production but allow them time to get their act together, and the proper

infrastructure in place to show it is sustainable.

"I don’t think your rape seed or sunflower oil have that – are they certifiable?"

He admits there is one remaining obstacle for an internationally agreed certification scheme.

If EU countries were to use it as a way of excluding palm oil, that would be deemed illegal by

the World Trade Organisation.

Mr Chin says these rules "may have to be renegotiated".

Environmentalists remain concerned about the amount of previously logged forest being

zoned for agriculture in Malaysia.

Ed Matthew, of Friends of the Earth, said: "While it is true that palm oil is one of the most

productive vegetable oils and that significant carbon savings can be made if the crop is

grown sustainably compared to the use of conventional fossil fuel, the reality is that the

Malaysian government has plans to convert over one million hectares of forest into oil palm

plantations.

"Such forest land conversion, which is likely to include the conversion of peat forests,

threatens to create substantial global warming emissions.