Palm oil is one of the 10 major vegetable oils traded in the global oils & fats market. It has been consumed as food from as long as 5,000 years ago and today is found in one of every ten food products sold on the shelves worldwide. Its sibling oil, palm kernel oil, which is also edible, is extensively used in the oleochemical industry that produces chemical feedstock for non-edible products such as cosmetics, toiletries, industrial cleaning agents, and candles.

As one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of palm oil, the Malaysian oil palm industry is the pride of the country. Over the past 50 years, the industry has grown by leaps and bounds to provide socioeconomic prosperity and political stability to the nation while feeding billions of people worldwide through exports of its palm oil and downstream products. Today, the industry has not only improved the living standards of small farmers, but also provided employment to close to three million people through various palm oil-linked economic activities.

Yet, this is not sufficiently appreciated in some quarters, which consistently fail to give palm oil & the Malaysian palm oil industry their due. To rectify this, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) present facts at a glance in this easy-to-read booklet. We hope this comprehensive information will put to rest any lingering doubts about palm oil and its various benefits.