Definition: Palm oil is edible oil which is extracted from the pulp of fruit of oil palms. The color of pulp is red. That’s why crude palm oil is naturally similar to pulp color because of high inactive vitamin A content. It is different from kernel oil or coconut oil. Commonly it is combined or mixed with coconut oil to make highly saturated vegetable fat, which is also used for cooking purposes.
Description: Main usage of CPO is for cooking purposes and is largely used in South-East Asia, West Africa and some parts of Brazil. Commercial kitchens use it due to its low cost. It’s not healthy as its counterparts due to high content of saturated fats. Largest producer of CPO is Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Columbia. They are major exporters of palm oil. India is net importer of Crude Palm Oil and Mumbai being one of the major trading centers. It is also used for making bio diesel and one of it’s by product is Glycerin.
The largest derivatives market for CPO is Bursa Malaysian Derivatives. It’s also traded heavily on MCX and NCDEX in India wherein delivery center is Mumbai. Its prices are affected mainly by demand and supply cooking oils and oil seeds all over the world. It is measured in kilograms.
Source: THE ECONOMIC TIMES
