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Summary of our market study
The French market consumes over 400,000 tonnes of palm oil a year.
Since 2020, the global palm oil market has been experiencing a slowdown, due in particular to falling production in major producers such as Malaysia and Indonesia, which together account for over 80% of global production.
Despite the controversies surrounding its environmental and health impact, palm oil remains the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world, with over 3 billion consumers.
The industry aims to improve its sustainability image through RSPO certification, but only 19% of palm oil is certified.
The European Union has taken steps to phase out palm oil from biofuels by 2030 through the RED II directive, which aims to exclude palm oil from renewable energy targets. This affects the French market, which uses 75% of its palm oil imports for biofuel production.
Europe is the world's second largest importer, consuming over 6.5 million tonnes.
Evaluated palm oil is the world's cheapest vegetable oil.
The main market players are Wilmar, an agro-industrial company with sales of $73 billion in 2023, and Sime Darby Plantation, which operates over 600,000 hectares of palm oil plantations.
Palm oil consumption in France
The fruit of the oil palm is the essential raw material for this industry. France imports over 400,000 tonnes of palm oil, worth around 250 million euros.
Demand for palm oil in France remains steady, despite growing public attention to environmental and health issues. Many consumers unknowingly consume palm oil hidden in over half of industrial products, everyday foodstuffs and fuels.
A majority of Europeans, particularly the French, have voiced their support for the abolition of tax breaks that encourage the use of palm oil in fuels.
The market faces criticism over deforestation and threats to biodiversity, which tarnishes its image.
The market is segmented between producers, refiners, importers and processors. Total and L'Oréal are among the leading importers and users of palm oil in France.
Global palm oil market players
- Wilmar International, a leading agro-industrial group with a significant influence on the supply and pricing of palm oil worldwide.
- Sime Darby Plantation Berhad is one of Malaysia's leading producers, with vast plantations stretching across the country.
- AAK AB, from Sweden, specializes in vegetable oils and fats and palm oil. Its role in the market is focused on refining and supplying specialized products to meet the needs of industry.
- Saipol, a subsidiary of the Avril Group, is a European refiner with significant oilseed processing capacity.
- Total, primarily known as an energy giant, has entered the biofuels business, integrating palm oil into its production of renewable fuels. Its La Mède biorefinery illustrates the intersection between the energy sector and the palm oil market.
- L'Oréal is a major player in the cosmetics industry, using palm oil in a variety of products.
- Danone, a multinational food company, uses palm oil in various food products.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
L' palm oil is a vegetable oil extracted by hot pressing from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm. Worldwide, palm oil is mainly used for human food, then in the oleochemical industry (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and increasingly, but still in a minority, in the bio-energy sector
The palm oil value chain consists of several stages: production of the basic raw material (crude palm oil), transportation to the processing site, obtaining the final product (often refined oil), sale to the end user, marketing and sale to consumers.
There are two main reasons for the success of palm oil: its high profitability and low cost on the one hand, and its special physico-chemical properties on the other Palm oil is thus the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world (35%). [ OECD ]
Malaysia and Indonesia dominate the palm oil market as they share between them more than 80% of production . On the demand side, on the other hand, the European Union is the world's second largest importer behind India. Moreover, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy together accounted for 81.5% of the EU's palm oil diesel production in 2019
France, for its part, uses 75% of its palm oil imports in biofuel production . Thus, in December 2018, the publication by the European Union of the Red II directive, which represents a first step towards banning palm oil in fuels by 2030, is weighing heavily on the French market. In Europe, and particularly in France, the opposition between oil groups, industries and producing countries, particularly Indonesia, governments and NGOs has since continued the debate on palm oil, as the European Union is the world's second largest importer of palm oil.
For several years, the world palm oil market are betting on the durable development and the traceability of production to get rid of the negative image of this edible oil conveyed by the multiple awareness campaigns conducted by NGOs. L' palm oil is indeed accused of being unhealthy but above all for the environment in producing countries.
In response to these dangers, the emergence in 2004 of "certified sustainable" palm oil aims to promote the sustainable development of the palm oil industry. However, it is still criticised by NGOs because it is considered inefficient.
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