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1. Palm Oil production is helping to alleviate poverty in many developing nations

• The Malaysian industry employs more than 570,000 people with 405,000 engaged in cultivation. [1]
• In Indonesia, the Palm Oil industry has been attributed with the alleviation of poverty for millions of inhabitants. [2]
• Eighty-Nine percent of the world’s vegetable oils are grown in developing nations, making them an important way to raise incomes and standards of living for the world’s poor.

2. The Palm Oil industry is highly beneficial for small local land holders

• In 2006 the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics estimated that 43 percent of the total palm area was owned by small holders, rather than large private companies or the Government.
• In Malaysia, 40 percent of plantations are owned by small holders, with many being allocated by the Government for settlement plots.

3. Research indicates that biodiesel from  Palm Oil has a lower greenhouse gas footprint than other sources of biodiesel

• Using a life cycle analysis approach the GHG emissions of palm oil have been estimated at 835kg carbon equivalent. Soybean emissions were estimated at 1,387kg and rapeseed emissions at 1,562kg. [3]

4. Oil Palm plantations have a higher carbon sequestration capacity than other biodiesel crops

• Palm Oil plantations have a 25 – 30 year life span and an annual crop.  This means that in many ways, palm oil’s capacity to sequester carbon dioxide mimics a natural forest through its perennial leaves and closed canopy. 
• Palm Oil does not require land clearing on an annual basis as other biodiesel crops do.

5. Palm Oil is a very high yield and sustainable plantation

• The oil palm is the most efficient oil-bearing crop in the world, requiring only 0.26 hectares of land to produce one tonne of oil while soybean, sunflower and rapeseed require 2.22, 2 and 1.52 hectares, respectively, to produce the same. [4]

6. Palm Oil is a highly energy efficient plantation

• Palm Oil generates nearly 10 times the energy it consumes, compared to a ratio of 2.5 for soybeans and 3 for ripe oilseed. [5]

7. Palm Oil plantations do not lead to rampant destruction of tropical rainforests

• In Malaysia, plantations are restricted to the 20 percent of the land which is allocated for agricultural purposes.  Sixty percent of Malaysia’s territory is reserved for forest.  The average in Europe is 25 percent.  This means that palm oil plantations can only occur on land already zoned for agriculture.
• In Indonesia, one of the world’s most densely populated countries, 25 percent of the country has been set aside for forest conservation.  Palm Oil is only cultivated in areas set aside for commercial production.

8. The Palm Oil industry is a highly regulated and monitored industry

• Many Palm Oil producers and other interest groups including the WWF have started the process of certifying sustainably produced palm oil through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. 
• In addition to this, local laws in both Malaysia and Indonesia impose a number of environmental and production standards on palm oil plantations and manufacturers.

9. Palm Oil is a cheap source of food for low-income people across the world

• Palm oil is a very healthy and cheap source of food for many nations across the world which, along with a new emphasis on biodiesels as an alternative fuel source, has seen a large increase in demand.  
• A squeeze on the supply of palm oil would see the cost of foodstuffs increase for many of those people who can least afford it.

10. Palm Oil manufacturing processes has enormous potential to even further improve its greenhouse gas efficiency

• Research is already being undertaken into the sequestration and harnessing of methane produced at the oil palm mills and other improvements in production processes which have the potential to reduce the global reliance on fossil fuels for energy.  This opportunity should not be lost in favour of higher emitting biodiesels such as soybean and rapeseed oil.
   

[1] 2008, Malaysia’s Oil Palm – Hallmark of Sustainable Development, Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue No. 4; Kui, D. P. C. F 2008, Malaysian Efforts in Developing Responsible Practises in the Palm Oil Industry, edited version of the keynote address by the Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities at the World Sustainable Palm Oil Conference, London, 15 September, 2008, published in the Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue No. 4.

[2] United States Department of Agriculture, 2007, Indonesia: Palm Oil Production Prospects Continue to Grow, Foreign Agriculture Service Commodity Intelligence Report, 31 December, Washington DC.

[3] 2008, Malaysia’s Oil Palm – Hallmark of Sustainable Development, Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue No. 4.

[4] MPOC, The Oil Palm Tree, http://www.mpoc.org.my/The_Oil_Palm_Tree.aspx

[5] Lama, Tana, Lee and Rahma, Malaysian palm oil: Surviving the food versus fuel dispute for a sustainable future, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 13, Issues 6-7, August-September 2009.