Palm Oil History

Palm oil has been recognized and applied as cooking oils in West African countries. European merchants came to West Africa sometimes purchased palm oil to be used in Europe. However, palm oil remained a rare commodity outside of West Africa due to its bulky and price.

In the times of Britain’s Industrial Revolution, palm oil turned into the most wanted commodity by the English traders. Moreover, palm oil also served as the main ingredient for soap production such as Lever Brothers’ “Sunlight” and the American Palmolive. In 1870, palm oil is declared the main export commodity for some West African countries like Ghana and Nigeria.

Palm tree was introduced to Java by the Dutch in 1848. The early plantations were mostly established and operated by the British whose Sime Darby was one of them. Since the year of 1960, a great palm plantation scheme has been used by the government in order to battle poverty. Transmigrants are given around 4 hectares of land to be planted with oil palm or rubber. They were given 20 years to pay off their debts for the land.

Tags used:
Cooking Oils  Export Commodity  Oil History  Oil Palm  Palm Oil  Palm Tree  Rare Commodity  Sime Darby