Production of palm oil that complies with voluntary sustainability standards is growing at a faster rate than conventional production. Standard-compliant production increased by 110% from 2008 to 2016, while conventional production increased by 2%.
How much oil is extracted from palm kernels?
The oil palm produces bunches containing many fruits with the fleshy mesocarp enclosing a kernel that is covered by a very hard shell. The FAO considers palm oil (coming from the pulp) and palm kernels to be primary products. The oil extraction rate from a bunch varies from 17 to 27% for palm oil, and from 4 to 10% for palm kernels.
How is palm oil made?
Palm oil is traditionally, and still industrially, produced by milling the fruits of oil palm. Besides milling, palm oil is produced by cold-pressing the fruit of the oil palm since the 1990s. This type of artisanal palm oil is usually not further refined, so they keep the natural red color.
How much oil does a palm oil farm produce per hectare?
In 2016, it was found that palm oil farms produce around 4.17 metric tons of oil per hectare. By contrast other oils, such as sunflower, soybean, or peanut only produce 0.56, 0.39, and 0.16 metric tons respectively per hectare.