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Malaysia currently accounts for 51 % of world palm oil production and 62% of world exports, and therefore also for 8% and 22% of the world's total production and exports of oils and fats. As the biggest producer and exporter of palm oil and palm oil products, Malaysia has an important role to play in fulfilling the growing global need for oils and fats in general. Palm oil and palm oil products are employed in numerous food and non-food applications. They can be used as frying media and for making margarines, shortenings, soap, oleo chemicals and other products. In addition to their technical merits, versatility and competitiveness, palm oil and its products are backed up by a strong commitment to R&D, and to the maintenance of tight quality control. In view of these facts, we feel that it is timely to provide readers everywhere in the world with this general guide to 'palm oil - the excellent choice'. We hope that you will find this publication
useful and informative on the subject of Malaysian palm oil and its many
applications in the food industry and elsewhere. We should be very happy to
receive comments, queries and suggestions for improvements to future editions of
the guide. The Palm Oil Industry - A Brief Introduction
The refining of crude palm oil commenced in the early 70s in response to the Government's call for increased industrialization. The emergence of refineries marked the introduction of a wide range of processed palm oil products. In 1995, Malaysia remained as the world's largest producer of palm oil with 7.8 million tonnes or 51% of world production. Palm oil is expected to contribute about 20% of the forecasted 105 million tonnes of oils and fats demand by the year 2000. In terms of export, Malaysia also rank as the largest palm oil exporter with 6.5 million tonnes, capturing a share of 62% of world total palm oil exports.
A unique feature of the oil palm is that it produces two types of oil - palm oil from the flesh of the fruit, and palm kernel oil from the seed or kernel. For every 10 tonnes of palm oil, about 1 tonne of palm kernel oil is also obtained. Several processing operations are used to produce the finished palm oil that meets the users' requirements. The first step in processing is at the mill, where the crude palm oil is extracted from the fruit. The various steps in extraction are. shown in the Flow Chart. The crude palm oil may be further refined (the second stage of processing) to obtain a wide range of palm products of specified quality. The partly and wholly processed grades require little further treatment before use, thus offering the end-user a saving in processing costs. Palm oil may also be fractionated, using simple crystallization and separation processes to obtain solid (stearin) and liquid (olein) fractions of various melting characteristics (see Chart). The different properties of the fractions make them suitable for use in a variety of food and non-food products. Hydrogenation and interesterification may also be used to widen further the applications of palm oil and its fractions.
Several important technical properties and other benefits of palm oil can be described under the following headings: § High stability to oxidation § Natural solids content § Stability in the beta prime-crystalline form § Ready and increasing availability world-wide § Competitive Price And Cost Effectiveness
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