Top palm oil producing nations Jan - Dec 2015
1. Indonesia: 33.4 million tonnes of palm oil
2. Malaysia: 19.9 million tonnes of palm oil
3. Thailand: 1.8 million tonnes of palm oil
4. Colombia: 1.2 million tonnes of palm oil
5. Nigeria: 0.94 million tonnes of palm oil
6. Ecuador: 0.53 million tonnes of palm oil
7. Guatemala: 0.52 million tonnes of palm oil
8. Papua New Guinea: 0.5 million tonnes of palm oil
Since 1980, palm oil production has increased tenfold with estimates that production will increase 50% by 2050. Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia - both countries account for 84% of the worlds palm production. There has recently been an increase in palm oil production in South America via Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala.
It is estimated that there are 17 million hectares of mature palm oil plantations across the equator, producing a total of 62 million tonnes of palm oil in 2015. The second largest global vegetable oil, soya, takes up 120 million hectares, producing 48 million tonnes of soya oil.