EN FR FAQ News Jobs Contact SOCFIN Home Socfin Group Sustainable development Rubber Palm Oil Locations Investors Home Palm Oil Palm Oil Palm oil is the most used vegetable oil in the world. Palm oil comes from the fruit of the oil palm The palm fruits grow in bunches at the top of the tree; they form a ring around the trunk of the palm, at the base of the leaves. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit by simple hot pressing, without solvents or chemical additives. Where does the oil palm grow? It grows best in West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. Oil palm cultivation The palm tree germinates in a nursery and grows there for 12 months. The young oil palm is then transplanted into the field or ‘palm plantation’. The first fruits are usually harvested three years after transplantation; harvesting then continues for nearly 35 years. By this time, the palm has reached a height of nearly 15 metres, and must be cut down, as it is too tall for harvesting. The bunches vary in weight from a few kilos for a young palm to around fifteen kilos for an adult palm tree. Harvesting Every 8 to 10 days, throughout the year Manually, using a sickle attached to the end of a pole The bunches are transported to the factory by truck or tractor A palm oil extraction plant or oil mill Fruit bunches are first sterilized with steam to loosen the fruits from the empty fruit bunch (efb) and to block the acidification of the oil; The fruits are then separated from the efb in a thresher drum; Before the fruits are pressed, they are technically and mechanically prepared in a digester; With the press, the crude oil is extracted from the fruits. The left over fibres and nuts are called cake; During the clarification process, the real palm oil is separated from the other fruit juices; Most of palm oil mills are also equipped with nut cracking; Palm oil mills are energy self-sufficient, being equipped with units producing their own renewable energy. The residual fibres and shells from the production process are used as fuel for biomass boilers. The steam produced by the boilers enters a turbine that generates electricity for the factory and some surrounding villages. The rest of the steam is redistributed and provides the heat necessary for the entire process. Oil palm cultivation is relatively low on mechanisation and labour-intensive; this makes it a significant source of direct employment. Organic residues resulting from the processing of the bunches are returned to the field and used as organic fertiliser. Palm oil: an autonomous and sustainable production process Palm Rapeseeds Soya Economic life 25 to 35 years 1 year 1 year Area under cultivation (274.4 million ha) 6.6 % 12 % 43.5 % Global production (177.4 million T - 2015) 62 million T 26 million T 49 million T % of global vegetable oil production 35 % 14 % 27.6 % Oil production per hectare per year 3.8 T 0.8 T 0.5 T Fertilizer consumption compared with soya 14 % 31 % 100 % A sustainable agriculture label exists: CSPO, established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: 2.87 million hectares are certified, representing 12 million tons or 20 % of global production. (31/05/16) Fact sheet Global production: 62 million T Socfin production: 432 471 T including 24 730 T from smallholders Socfin land under palm cultivation: 128 188 ha 14.1 million : seeds production Seeds Trading Presence of oil palm plantations Useful links FAQ page Research and development page R&D Technical data sheet, La culture du palmier à huile, Socfin 2016. Roundtable on sustainable palm oil, Socfin membership. Combattre les idées reçues … Alliance Française pour une huile de palme durable European palm oil alliance Alain Rival, "La palme de la controverse" (version anglaise et française à télécharger). Socfin is a member of the international community of oil palm, ISOPB. Socfin is a member of the International Society of Oil Palm Agronomists, ISOPA Conférences Internationales : International Palm Oil Congress & Exhibition Fonds Français Alimentation & Santé : L'huile de palme: aspects nutritionnels, sociaux et environnementaux. Huile de palme. Une stratégie pour booster la production 5 July, 2018 in Press review , Cameroon Le gouvernement camerounais a autorisé l'importation de 100 000 T d'huile de palme brute pour 2018 afin combler la demande nationale. Trois choses à savoir sur l’huile de palme 5 June, 2018 in Press review L'huile de palme est bourrée de qualité : stable à haute température, apporte une belle couleur et le palmier à huile est très productif. Huile de palme : quels effets sur la santé ? 5 June, 2018 in Press review Emission de Circuits courts "Comment faire sans huile de palme ?". Un médecin nutritionniste neutralise le débat. © 2018 Socfin FAQ News Jobs Contact Sitemap Disclaimer Find us on: