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August 19, 2022 articles
The Historical Journey of the Oil Palm Fruit
The Palm Oil Saga
The first evidence on the existence of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) was the discovery of palm oil storage vessels in ancient Egypt around 3000 BC and it was believed then that the palm oil was traded from West Africa. About 4500 years later, in the 1500s, Portuguese explorers reportedly observed wild oil palms during their West African expedition and found that it was used by ancient African communities as an ingredient in food production.
The ruby red fruit with its oily outer pulp (mesocarp) and kernel (endosperm) has since flourished as a major economic trade good and has become a primary bargaining commodity of many nations who engage in the processing and refinement of palm oil to produce a variety of consumable and non-consumable goods.
Today, the oils extracted from the palm fruit and its kernel are used to produce a wide range of products, including cooking oil, margarine, confectionary fats, emulsifiers, soaps, detergents and cosmetics. More recently, palm oil has also been used to produce fuels in the form of palm methyl esters or biodiesel and the oil palm tree itself can be converted into biomass, creating a source of renewable energy that powers the engines and machinery on oil palm plantations.
Malaysia is one of the largest producers of palm oil in the world, second only to Indonesia, and it accounts for 3 to 4 percent of the country’s GDP. In 2021 Malaysia produced about one third of the global supply of palm oil, with oil palm plantations covering 5.73 million hectares of land. The industry has faced many challenges over the years, such as the need to adopt more sustainable cultivation practices that limit its carbon footprint, and more recently issues around labour shortages and supply chain disruptions brought about by the pandemic. Yet demand for the product remains higher than ever, with nearly 76 million metric tonnes consumed last year and it continues to play a central role in Malaysian trade and economic growth.
How exactly did this ancient crop grow from being a domestically produced food item within West African communities to becoming a cornerstone of modern Malaysian economic trade, as well as one of the most widely consumed food products in the world today? We look at the history of oil palm cultivation and production and trace its gradual advancement across the world from the plains of West Africa to the industrial plantations of Malaysia.
A West African Fruit
The oil palm tree originates in the West African continent where it was cultivated by communities as far back as 2,500 years ago. Oil palm groves became abundant during this period and were cultivated through seed dispersal and slash and burn techniques. It was commonplace at the time for abandoned villages and farm camps to be converted into oil palm groves, and for the men to harvest fruit bunches by climbing the tall trees while the women and children collected the fresh fruit bunches and loose fruits from the ground. The palm fruit would then be converted into crude palm oil through a strenuous process of repetitively boiling and filtering the fresh fruit with water, a method that is still largely used by communities in West Africa today.
The “juice” or oil that was extracted using this traditional method was used as an ingredient in the production of various West African cuisines, including a dish of boiled yam, palm oil and Kanwa Salt as well an assortment of different soups. It was also used to produce other non-consumable products such as soaps, skin ointments and poison antidotes. In addition to the use of the fruit itself, the sap of the oil palm tree would be tapped to produce palm wines and its fronds used for roof thatching and brooms.
The March of Industrialisation
The cultivation of palm oil and its usage in the production of various consumable and non-consumable products was quite a prominent part of traditional West African culture. However, it was not until the industrial revolution of the late 18th century that the tropical tree began to attract the interest of European traders in other parts of the world. With the burgeoning expansion of industrial growth in Great Britain and its neighboring countries, these rapidly developing nations were becoming increasingly in need of raw materials to power and aid their industrial processes.
Palm oil was found to have various practical benefits, perhaps most vitally as an industrial lubricant, for the oiling of engine parts, and for use in tinplate production. It also acted as an ideal substitute for the animal based fatty wax that was being used in soap manufacturing and candle making, enabling the production of superior products that were better received in the market.
As demand began to grow, the need for a steady supply of high-quality palm oil led to an interest in the development of large-scale plantations.
At the time, production still took place on semi-wild palm groves which practiced manual cultivation processes and could not be depended on to generate the amount and quality of oil needed by the market.
While numerous attempts were made, unsuccessfully, to set up plantations in West Africa, it took the bold efforts of William Lever of the Lever Brothers before a proper operation could finally come into being.
Lever was able to secure a concession with the Belgian government to develop 750,000 hectares of land in the Congo Free State, which lead to the founding of Huileries de Congo Belge, the Oil Mills of the Belgian Congo, a business concern that would eventually go on to become the now internationally recognized mega-corporation, Unilever.
Further developments in Europe and West Africa would continue to make the growing palm oil industry more attractive to traders and entrepreneurs around the world, one such event being the abolishment of the duty on palm oil in 1845. By the 1870’s palm oil had become the primary export of many West African Countries, with various enterprises having been set up to cultivate and produce the commodity, and it was around this period that highly efficient plantation systems were beginning to emerge in Southeast Asia.
Palm Oil Spreads Across the Ocean
In 1848, four oil palm seedlings were planted by Dutch Botanists in the Botanic Gardens in Bogor, which was then known as Buitenzorg, on the Indonesian island of Java. Adrien Hallet, a Belgian entrepreneur with experience in the rubber trade, noticed that the ornamental Indonesian oil palm trees bore fruit in greater amounts than its West African counterparts.
Taking this as an indication that the conditions were favourable, Hallet then went on to set up his own plantation in Poeloe Radja, in Sumatra in 1911. Then, in 1917, he assisted two French Farmers to develop Malaysia’s first commercial oil palm plantation, the Tennamaran Estate in Selangor.
By 1936, Sumatera had surpassed Nigeria in terms of oil palm production thanks to an open-door policy practiced by the local government, and with the subsequent fall in demand for rubber after the first world war, the palm oil industry was looked at with renewed interest for diversification. Large scale operations such as Guthrie, Barlow and Socfin, repurposed their existing rubber infrastructure in favor of oil palm cultivation, and the industry was well on its way towards further growth within the colonial nations.
Malaysian Palm Oil
By the time of the second world war in 1939, there were over 100,000 hectares of oil palms being grown in Indonesia and Malaysia, with Socfin and Guthrie controlling roughly 50% of the global palm oil supply. During the war, however, major commerce hubs such as Singapore and Malacca fell under Japanese occupation, causing the plantation operations in these areas to fall into decline due to colonial administrators being forced to abandon their posts, trade routes being blocked, and the severe labour shortages that were being experienced. Exports dropped drastically during this period, and the Southeast Asian oil palm industry faced its first major crisis.
Thanks largely due to a series of timely policy choices, however, the Malaysian oil palm industry would go on to recover from the constraints brought about by the Japanese occupation. The prospect in Indonesia would prove to be less favourable though, as political instability associated with nationalistic ideologies would lead foreign companies to take their operations elsewhere, resulting in an ebb that would last nearly two decades. With the British Ministry of Food committed to exclusively purchasing palm oil supplies from Malaysia and the local government enacting policies which favored foreign investment, the palm oil industry in the newly independent former colony experienced a rapid resurgence.
The success that the Malaysian palm oil industry would continue to enjoy in the years to come was also attributable to the various organisations and institutions that were established to support research efforts and coordinate commercial activities among plantations owners and managers. One such organisation had been the Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP), established in 1919, which was put in place to bring together key strengths among members of the local industry, where the sharing of knowledge, practices and insights would promote plantation business efforts and encourage growth in the sector. Leaping ahead nearly a century, the Palm Oil Institute of Malaysia (PORIM) would also be established, here to specifically target research and development initiatives for the improvement of oil palm breeding, genetics, crop physiology and the quality of end products.
An institution that would indeed prove vital to the interest of the palm oil industry was established in 1956. That year oil palm was identified under the First Malaysia Plan as the best alternative to rubber cultivation and the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) was established for the purpose of assisting the resettlement of poor communities and integrating them into smallholder farming operations. As part of these efforts, FELDA would put together an initiative in which four hectares of land, a wooden house, and the necessary materials were provided to underprivileged members of the community for the purpose of encouraging oil palm cultivation, an initiative that received the recognition of the World Bank and the United Nations for commendable efforts to alleviate poverty.
As of 1960, the country had amassed a sizable 55,000 hectares of oil palm plantations and was producing approximately 92,000 tonnes of palm oil annually. Malaysia officially became the leading global exporter of palm oil in 1966 and in 1970 plantations operations expanded beyond peninsular Malaysia and were introduced into the Sabahan and Sarawakian agricultural systems. The introduction of the pollinating weevil from Cameroon to Sabah in 1981 dramatically improved yields, with the Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) being established that same year to manage land settlement matters for the growth of oil palm. The total crop area of oil palm plantations in Sabah exceeded a million hectares by the year 2000, with subsequent advancements and growth taking place in Sarawak between 1990 and 2000.
The Rise of Sustainable Palm Oil
While the industry would continue to grow and thrive in the following years, pressures were steadily mounting from public interests’ groups and competing parties in the edible oils industry relating to the impact that cultivation practices were having on the environment and the communities in which plantations were being developed. Climate change issues associated with deforestation and open burning practices, the loss of unique wildlife and biodiversity, and a lack of proper support for its labor force, were some of the issues that were being raised by international NGOs’ and other competing edible oil industry organisations. And so, between 1980 and 1989, the mounting negative media attention began leading international consumers towards notions of boycotting palm oil products.
Members of the palm oil business community were placed in the position of having to seriously reflect on industry practices and determine the best course of action to respond to the concerns that had been raised by the global community. The fact remained that among other oil producing crops available both then and now, palm oil afforded the most efficient means of producing vegetable-based oil when compared to alternatives such as sunflower, rapeseed and soybean. Oil palm being an efficient perennial tree crop yields 6 to 8 times more oil per unit area, thus requiring less land to meet the growing global demand for oils and fats. However, it remained a pressing need to find ways to minimize its impact on the environment and rectify industry standards towards a more responsible outlook. Thus, the industry needed to find a means of producing the crop without the associated externalities that it had become attached to.
Industry members rallied together and formed the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and in 2003, the RPSO held its inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur with 200 participants attending from over 16 countries. The RSPO was set up to advance the production, procurement, finance, and use of sustainable palm fruit oil products through the development, implementation and verification of credible global standards and the commitment and engagement of stakeholders along the supply chain.
Rooted in eight core principles, the standards included an agreement to make use of appropriate best practices by growers and millers, a pledge towards engaging in environmentally responsible operations that upheld the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and a commitment towards the responsible consideration of employees and communities impacted by the growers and palm oil millers. With the introduction of the RPSO standards, the first Sustainable Palm Oil certification system was created, providing incentives and benefits to industry members to engage in responsible and sustainable business practices moving ahead.
At present, about 21 percent of global operational practices are sustainably certified, with the number likely to grow in coming years with better support from governments and institutions, and as consumer demand for sustainable products continues to rise.
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards was established in 2013 to provide local industry practitioners with an accommodating transitionary mechanism for meeting the high standards of the RSPO certification and were made officially mandatory by regulatory bodies in 2019.
The Rise of Sustainable Palm Oil
While the industry would continue to grow and thrive in the following years, pressures were steadily mounting from public interests’ groups and competing parties in the edible oils industry relating to the impact that cultivation practices were having on the environment and the communities in which plantations were being developed. Climate change issues associated with deforestation and open burning practices, the loss of unique wildlife and biodiversity, and a lack of proper support for its labor force, were some of the issues that were being raised by international NGOs’ and other competing edible oil industry organisations. And so, between 1980 and 1989, the mounting negative media attention began leading international consumers towards notions of boycotting palm oil products.
Members of the palm oil business community were placed in the position of having to seriously reflect on industry practices and determine the best course of action to respond to the concerns that had been raised by the global community. The fact remained that among other oil producing crops available both then and now, palm oil afforded the most efficient means of producing vegetable-based oil when compared to alternatives such as sunflower, rapeseed and soybean. Oil palm being an efficient perennial tree crop yields 6 to 8 times more oil per unit area, thus requiring less land to meet the growing global demand for oils and fats. However, it remained a pressing need to find ways to minimize its impact on the environment and rectify industry standards towards a more responsible outlook. Thus, the industry needed to find a means of producing the crop without the associated externalities that it had become attached to.
Industry members rallied together and formed the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and in 2003, the RPSO held its inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur with 200 participants attending from over 16 countries. The RSPO was set up to advance the production, procurement, finance, and use of sustainable palm fruit oil products through the development, implementation and verification of credible global standards and the commitment and engagement of stakeholders along the supply chain.
Rooted in eight core principles, the standards included an agreement to make use of appropriate best practices by growers and millers, a pledge towards engaging in environmentally responsible operations that upheld the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and a commitment towards the responsible consideration of employees and communities impacted by the growers and palm oil millers. With the introduction of the RPSO standards, the first Sustainable Palm Oil certification system was created, providing incentives and benefits to industry members to engage in responsible and sustainable business practices moving ahead.
At present, about 21 percent of global operational practices are sustainably certified, with the number likely to grow in coming years with better support from governments and institutions, and as consumer demand for sustainable products continues to rise.
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards was established in 2013 to provide local industry practitioners with an accommodating transitionary mechanism for meeting the high standards of the RSPO certification and were made officially mandatory by regulatory bodies in 2019.
A Resilient and Evolving Industry
In more recent times, the industry has faced a few new brands of challenges which have required solutions of their own to overcome. Chief among these have been the supply chain disruptions and labour shortages brought about by the pandemic as well as a lack of certainty with regards to access to raw materials like fertilizers due to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
Industry members continue to meet at industry conferences and gatherings throughout the year to find the appropriate solutions for managing these issues through the most effective means available.
Climate change remains a central pressing concern and finding ways to augment industry practices using novel methods and technology has been at the forefront of discussions among industry practitioners over the past few years. The consensus is that with the right amount of initiative, cooperation and support, plantations could help drive positive climate change strategies that increase global weather resilience and climate outcomes in a real and significant way.
Technology is also looked at as holding the key to unlocking these and other potentials for the sector, as advances in biomolecular sciences hold the promise of improving crop yields and the quality of oil produced while developments in 4IR based smart technologies, digitalisation and mechanisation could drastically improve industry operational practices, making them more sustainable, efficient, and productive in the long term.
As the industry continues to grow and meet the shifting challenges of the times, there is a sense of optimism that the palm oil industry will remain a big part of the global agricultural economy for years to come. The industry remains as resilient as the fruit that its trade is founded upon, which has travelled across continents and changing socioeconomic landscapes to become one of the planets most highly valued commodities. With its profound success comes the responsibility of the industry to ensure that it stewards global agricultural practices towards more responsible and sustainable goals, and that it remains open and adaptable in its obligations towards safeguarding the interests of the environment and communities it operates in.
The story of the palm fruit that began in the tropical plains of West Africa goes on, and it is one that bears the potential for safeguarding our most vital interests for generations to come.
References:
- “The History of Palm Oil”, Accessed 5/10/2022, http://edupalm.org.my/web/the-history-of-palm-oil/#:~:text=Palm%20Oil%20started%20to%20make,living%20for%20the%20rural%20population
- “An Illustrated History of Industrial Palm Oil”, Josie Phillips, Accessed 5/10/2022 - https://chinadialogue.net/en/food/illustrated-history-of-industrial-palm-oil/
- “100 Glorious Years of Palm Oil in Malaysia”, Accessed 10/10/2022 - https://www.sop.com.my/100-glorious-years-of-palm-oil-in-malaysia/
- Malaysia: 100 Years of Resilient Palm Oil Performance, Nambiappan. P, Ismail. A, et al, Accessed 10/10/2022 http://jopr.mpob.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/jopr2018inpress-balu.pdf
- “Red Gold: A History of Palm Oil in West Africa”, Pauline Von Hellerman, Accessed 12/10/2022 https://chinadialogue.net/en/food/red-gold-a-history-of-palm-oil-in-west-africa/
- “War, Protectionism and Climate Change Inflate Global Food Prices”, Lan Ha, Accessed 12/10/2022 https://www.euromonitor.com/article/war-protectionism-and-climate-change-inflate-global-food-prices
