Palm continues to cater to edible oil needs   The NewsMunawar HasanSunday, April 13, 2014 From Print Edition

In fact, palm oil will be the only viable edible oil source available by middle of the 21st Century that produces far more volume by using comparatively far less agriculture land to feed burgeoning population of the world. The world population is projected to grow from 7.20 billion in 2013 to nine billion by 2043. As per the assessment of Dr Yusof Basiron, chief executive officer of MPOC, against a backdrop of lack of arable land and reduced and fluctuating supply of competing soft oils, palm oil’s reliability in supply is a unique added advantage.

 

Talking about the population growth and challenges relating to food security, he said, high demand for oil in food and industrial sectors is expected in the years to come with an increased application in the production of food and non-food applications such as oleo chemicals / bio diesel, especially in countries and regions such as China, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, European Union and America.

 

The biggest challenge in ensuing decades will be squeezing land resources for agriculture purposes, he said, adding, “We need to use land wisely due to scarcity of arable land, as world population is increasing, while arable land resources are decreasing.”

 

The Malaysian example is unique for achieving goals of quality produce with relatively greater yields by utilising comparatively lesser land resources, he said.

 

The world population has already been facing challenge of hunger and food insecurity. As per a recent report, he said, one in every eight people goes to sleep hungry every day. The issues

relating to food insecurity are acute in South Asia where 40 percent of its population falls in the category of poor having 1.25 dollar per day, which is second highest prevalence of poverty among all the regions of the world. Of 1.476 billion people living in South Asia, there is 0.596 billion poor people in the region, he said.

 

“If we are not succeeded in meeting the demand for food in the coming decade, hunger and extremely high prices of commodities cannot be avoided.”

 

In addition to shortages, he said, rising population growth is alone sufficient to exert greater pressure on commodity prices. Higher palm oil yield is the only solution to land scarcity problem, he said.

 

About viability of various edible oils, MPOC CEO said, if increased demand for population in the middle of the 21st Century is to be fulfilled by soyabean oil with yield factor of 0.5 tons per hectare, it requires an additional around 11.8 million hectares of land per annum.

 

If increased demand is to be fulfilled by palm oil with yield factor of four tons per hectare, it requires just an additional 1.48 million hectares of land per annum, he said.

 

Sharing some other facts, Dr Basiron said, of the total agricultural land of 4,911 million hectares in the world, 5.25 percent are planted with oilseeds, while only 0.29 percent of the world agricultural land is used for palm oil.

 

The quality and land efficiency of palm oil production is even greater in Malaysia, he said, adding that the Malaysian palm oil only took 0.09 percent of the global agriculture land.

 

As far as Pakistan is concerned, which is sixth most populous country in the world, presently around 70 percent of domestic edible oil requirements are being met through imports, over 95 percent of which is composed of palm oil products.

 

Malaysian palm oil proved a cost effective solution to meet edible oil requirement of Pakistan, he said.

 

Of the total imported palm oil in 2013, the share of Malaysian palm oil stands at around 62 percent. This trend is likely to continue in the years to come, primarily due to cost effectiveness and sustainable production of palm oil, he added.