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Institute of Scientific and Technical Information, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China

Abstract The development prospects of the world’s oil palm industry, as well as the distribution of oil palm production in the world and the overview of oil palm industry in the main producing countries were discussed, and the harvested area and production of oil palm and the production and import and export of palm oil were analyzed. The results showed that the world’s oil palm harvested area showed an increasing trend from 2000 to 2016, and the world’s oil palm harvested area in 2016 was increased by 103.18% compared with that in 2000. The world’s oil palm fruit production basically increased from 2000 to 2016 (only decreased by 1.45% in 2007 compared to 2006), and the production in 2016 increased by 148.76% compared with that in 2000. The world’s palm oil production increased year by year from 2000 to 2014, and the production 2014 was 157.89% higher than that in 2000. The world’s palm oil import quantity in 2016 increased by 215.72% compared with that in 2000, and the growth rate exceeded 22% every five years. The export quantity of palm oil in 2016 increased by 197.88% compared with that in 2000, and the growth rate exceeded 19% every five years. It is predicted that the world’s oil palm harvested area and production will continue to increase in the next five years; the palm oil production will also increase; and the import quantity and export quantity of palm oil will continue to grow. Nigeria has great development potential for oil palm, and its production of oil palm can be increased by updating old oil palm plantations and strengthening management.

Key words Oil palm, Harvested area, Production, Palm oil, Analysis

1 Introduction

Oil palm is a tropical tree that prefers high temperature, high humidity and strong sunlight. It is a tropical perennial woody oil crop, and has specific requirements for temperature, rainfall and oil. Feng Meilietal. reported that oil palm is native to tropical Africa, and it is now distributed in the tropics between 13° N and 12° S[1]. Huang Huideetal. reported that oil palm was first planted in West Africa and Equatorial Africa, and was first introduced to Indonesia by Dutch in 1848[2]. The main product of oil palm is palm oil. As a kind of edible oil, palm oil is increasingly being widely used by consumers in many countries for its rich natural nutrients. Since the late 1980s, palm oil has become the largest category of world’s vegetable oil exports.

2 Overview of oil palm industry

2.1DistributionofoilpalmproductionBefore the 15th century, West African residents have begun to use the oil from the wild oil palm. Oil palm production in West Africa has long been in the natural development stage. The output is low, and the average yield per hectare is less than 112.5 kg. As the demand for oil palm products in the world market grows, the development of natural oil palm forests in Africa continues to expand. Oil palm production is mainly based on small farmers’ natural forests, which have become the main producer of oil palm. In 1911, Indonesia established the first oil palm plantation in Sumatra. In 1917, Malaysia established the first oil palm plantation in Selangor. After then, the distribution of oil palm plantations has expanded to tropical regions in Asia, Africa, Oceania, Latin America and North America. After the 1970s, oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia have developed rapidly. Africa’s dominant position in the world’s oil palm industry has gradually been replaced by Southeast Asian countries. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there were 44 countries in the world for oil palm production 22 in Africa, 12 in Latin America, 6 in Asia, 2 in Oceania and 2 in North America in 2016. Commercial cultivation and production of palm oil began in 1911, and it has now formed a larger vegetable oil industry.

2.2OverviewoftheoilpalmindustryinthemainproducingcountriesThe countries with large oil palm production areas are Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria. The sum of the oil palm planting area of the three countries accounts for about 82.4%of the total oil palm planting area in the world. In 2016, the oil palm harvested areas in Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria accounted for 47.1%, 23.7% and 14.5% of the world’s oil palm harvested area.

Indonesia is the country with the largest oil palm planting area in the world. The main oil palm producing area is in Sumatra. The oil palm planting area and production in Sumatra account for about 80%of the total production in Indonesia. Among the oil palm plantations, about 45% of them are owned by self-employed farmers. About 1.6 million self-employed farmers engage in oil palm planting. Farmers own land, and they provide oil palm products to larger plantations.

Malaysia’s oil palm plantations are more concentrated. The planting area of oil palm in the Malay Peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah accounts for 47%, 25% and 27% of the total planting area in the country. The oil palm planting area of the Federal Land Bureau, Sime Darby, Kulim, IOI, and Golden Hope accounts for about 60% of the total oil palm planting area in Malaysia. There are more than 400 companies engaged n the processing of palm oil in the country. More than 350 000 people are directly involved in the planting and development of oil palm and the production, trade and research of palm oil and related products, while the indirectly driven related industries employ 2 million people.

Nigeria’s oil palm planting and production has long been dominated by smallholder farming. Plantations have been slow to develop and extensively managed, and many of them are still in a semi-wild state with low output. In Nigeria, 80% of palm oil production comes from scattered small farmers. Due to the application of traditional oil palm planting techniques, Nigeria’s oil palm fruit yields have been low for a long time, far below the world average. In 1961, the yield of oil palm fruit in Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia was 2.5, 11.5, and 13.4 t/ha, respectively. In 2016, the yield of oil palm fruit in Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia was 2.6, 17.3, and 17.2 t/ha, respectively. The average yield of oil palm fruit in the world was 11.2 t/ha in 2016.

Nigeria was once the world’s largest oil palm producer and exporter, and monopolized the world oil palm production industry in the early 20th century. It was till the world’s largest oil palm producer from 1961 to 1965, and palm oil production accounted for about 40.6% of the world’s total palm oil production. Before 1997, Nigeria’s oil palm harvested area ranked first in the world. In 1998, the oil palm harvested area of Malaysia (3.08 million ha) exceeded that of Nigeria (2.95 million ha). The oil palm production in Nigeria ranked first in the world before 1983. In 1984, the oil palm production of Indonesia (6.28 million t) began to exceed that of Nigeria (5.55 million t).

Since the 21st century, the oil palm industry in Indonesia and Malaysia has developed rapidly. The major oil palm producers in today’s world are Indonesia and Malaysia, followed by countries such as Thailand, Nigeria and Colombia. In 2016, the oil palm harvested area in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand and Colombia was 9.33 million, 5.00 million, 3.05 million, 0.65 million and 0.33 million ha, respectively, and their output of oil palm was 160.14 million, 86.33 million, 7.82 million, 12.08 million and 6.76 million t, respectively. In 2016, the yield of oil palm fruit was highest in Colombia (20 t/ha), followed by Thailand (19 t/ha) and Cameroon (19 t/ha).

3 Dynamics of harvested area and production of oil palm

3.1DynamicofharvestedareaofoilpalmThe world’s oil palm harvested area was 3.62 million ha in 1961, 3.26 million ha in 1970, 4.28 million ha in 1980, 6.12 million ha in 1990, 10.38 million ha in 2000, 16.86 million ha in 2010, and 21.09 million ha in 2016. In 2016, the oil palm harvested area in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and North America was 15.11 million, 4.51 million, 1.15 million, 0.19 million and 0.13 million ha, respectively. The dynamic of world’s oil palm harvested area during 2000-2016 was shown in Fig.1. The world’s oil palm harvested area increased continuously from 2000 to 2016. The oil palm harvested area was increased by 23.22% in 2004 compared with to 2000, increased by 20.00% in 2009 compared to 2005, increased by 25.09% in 2016 compared to 2010, and increased by 103.18% in 2016 compared to 2000.

Note: Data source: FAOSTAT.

Fig.1Dynamicofworld’soilpalmharvestedareaduring2000-2016

3.2DynamicofproductionofoilpalmThe world’s oil palm fruit production was 13.64 million t in 1961, 15.13 million t in 1970, 29.86 million t in 1980, 60.90 million t in 1990, 120.70 million t in 2000, 223.44 million t in 2010, and 300.25 million t in 2016. The dynamic of world’s oil palm fruit production during 2000-2016 was shown in Fig.2. The world’s oil palm fruit production basically increased from 2000 to 2016. The oil palm fruit production was reduced by 1.45% in 2007 compared with 2006, while it was increased in the rest years. The world’s oil palm fruit production was increased by 35.64% in 2004 compared to 2000, increased by 18.61% in 2009 compared to 2005, increased by 34.38% in 2016 compared to 2010, and increased by 148.76% in 2016 compared to 2000.

Note: Data source: FAOSTAT.

Fig.2Dynamicofworld’soilpalmfruitproductionduring2000-2016

4 Dynamics of production and import and export of palm oil

4.1DynamicofproductionofpalmoilThe oil squeezed from oil palm fruit is called palm oil. Since 1985, the world’s palm oil production has exceeded the sum of milk fat and beef and sheep fat and become the second largest lipid oil after soybean oil. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world’s palm oil production was 1.48 million t in 1961, 1.94 million t in 1970, 5.08 million t in 1980, 11.50 million t in 1990, 22.23 million t in 2000, 45.78 million t in 2010 and 57.33 million t in 2014. The dynamic of the world’s palm oil production during 2000-2014 was shown in Fig.3. As shown in Fig.3, the world’s palm oil production increased year by year from 2000 to 2014, with the largest increase in 2006 compared with 2005, an increase of 22.16%. The world’s palm oil production was increased by 35.22% in 2004 compared to 2000, increased by 35.95% in 2009 compared to 2005, increased by 25.23% in 2014 compared with 2010, and increased by 157.89% in 2014 compared with 2000.

Note: Data source: FAOSTAT.

Fig.3Dynamicofworld’spalmoilproductionduring2000-2014

4.2DynamicsofimportandexportofpalmoilAs shown in Fig.4, the world’s palm oil import quantity was reduced by 6.03% in 2007 compared to 2006, reduced by 1.49% in 2010 compared to 2009, reduced by 10.22% in 2016 compared to 2015, while it was increased in the rest years. The world’s palm oil import quantity was increased by 75.15% in 2004 compared to 2000, increased by 38.53% in 2009 compared to 2005, increased by 22.65% in 2016 compared to 2010, and increased by 215.72% in 2016 compared to 2000. The world’s palm oil export quantity was reduced by 12.52% in 2007 compared to 2006, reduced by 10.87% in 2016 compared to 2015, while it was increased in the rest years. The world’s palm oil export quantity was

Note: Data source: FAOSTAT.

Fig.4Dynamicsofworld’spalmoilimportquantityandexportquantityduring2000-2016

increased by 66.38% in 2004 compared to 2000, increased by 31.42% in 2009 compared to 2005, increased by 19.59% in 2016 compared to 2010, and increased by 197.88% in 2016 compared to 2000.

5 Conclusions and discussions

5.1World’soilpalmharvestedareaandproductioncontinuetoincreaseThe world’s major oil palm producers are Indonesia and Malaysia. In recent years, the oil palm harvested areas and production in both countries are on a growing trend. In particular, Indonesia’s oil palm harvested area and production have increased significantly. In the past ten years, Indonesia’s oil palm harvested area has grown at an average annual rate of more than 5.9%. Indonesia is rich in land resources suitable for planting oil palm, and the development prospects are good. Thailand has accelerated the development of oil palm planting since 2005. In Thailand, the oil palm harvested area was 0.32 million ha in 2005 and was 0.65 million ha in 2016. The oil palm production has developed rapidly in Thailand. Therefore, it is expected that the world’s oil palm harvested area and output will continue to increase in the next few years.

5.2World’spalmoilproductioncontinuestogrowThe world’s palm oil production and exporting countries are Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia’s palm oil production was 29.28 million t in 2014 (accounting for 51.08% of the world’s total palm oil production), 35.50 million t in 2015, 34.50 million t in 2016, and 38.17 million t in 2017, with good growth trend. As countries such as Indonesia continue to grow in oil palm harvested area and production and palm oil production, the world’s palm oil production is expected to continue to grow.

5.3World’spalmoilimportquantitycontinuestogrowSince 2000, the world’s palm oil production and consumption have increased at a rate of 6%-7%. The world’s major consumers of palm oil are India and China, with per capita annual consumption of 10-12 kg. Among the vegetable oil imports in India, palm oil accounts for the majority, making it the world’s largest importer and consumer of palm oil. In 2015, India imported 14.896 million t of various vegetable oils, of which 8.735 million t of palm oil. Palm oil is mainly used in food manufacturing such as instant noodles and edible blending oil in China, of which palm oil consumption is completely dependent on imports, and for which palm oil is the most imported edible oil. As the price of palm oil is lower than that of soybean oil, the consumption of palm oil in China is increasing year by year, and the import quantity has continued to grow. As the consumption of palm oil in countries such as India and China continues to grow, the quantity of palm oil imports will continue to grow.

5.4NigeriahasgreatdevelopmentpotentialforoilpalmNigeria has about 30 million ha of arable land, accounting for 32.3% of the country’s total area. The rural population in Nigeria accounts for about 70% of the total population in the country. Nigeria has a savanna climate, with high temperature, more rainfall, and annual average temperature of 26-27℃, and it is an ideal oil palm planting area with great development potential for oil palm. The oil palm harvested area in Nigeria was 2.70 million ha in 1961, 3.32 million (highest) ha in 2004, and 3.05 million ha in 2016. The yield of oil palm was always 2.5-2.6 t/ha, far below the average of the world (11 t/ha), Malaysia (17 t/ha) and Indonesia (17 t/ha). Therefore, the yield of oil palm in Nigeria can be increased by a large margin, and its oil palm production can be improved by updating old oil palm plantations and strengthening the management. Foreign countries can update the old oil palm plantations, develop new oil palm plantations, and establish overseas oil palm production bases by making use of Nigeria’s rich cultivated land and human resources, low land development cost, suitable climate and good natural conditions so as to increase the oil palm productivity.