Top producers of palm oil in the world

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the volume of global palm oil which is commonly used for food products, detergents, and cosmetics will hit 79.46 million metric tons by 2024.

Two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia led the top five palm oil producing countries in 2023 and accounted for producing about 66 million metric tons, representing 83% of the global palm oil produced during the period.

The top five palm oil producers

Here are the top five palm oil producers in the world;

1. Indonesia

Data from Statista shows that the country produced a total of 47 million metric tons of palm oil in 2023 and represents 59% of the global palm oil production. This figure doubled the volume produced by Malaysia which came in second place.

Currently, the palm oil industry in Indonesia contributes 4.5% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Palm oil production in Indonesia is mainly sourced from five main locations, Riau, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Barat, Sumatera Utara and Sumatera Selatan.

2. Malaysia

Malaysia produced 19,000 million tons of palm oil representing 24% of global palm oil production in 2023. The country is responsible for supplying a third of the world’s palm oil and this contributes about 2.4% to its overall GDP.

The palm oil produced in the country is specifically sourced from five major regions- Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, Johor and Perak.

3. Thailand

Thailand comes in third place with a production value of 3.4 million metric tonnes of palm oil making up just 4% of the global palm oil produced during the period.

Three main provinces Krabi, Surat Thani and Chumphorn accounted for the majority of the products.

Workers harvesting oil palm fruits [Malaysia Production] c36a4bef-cbad-4ecb-8f05-b1d415151ff9

4. Colombia

Columbia comes in fourth place with a production value of 1.9 million metric tonnes of palm oil making up just 2% of the global palm oil produced during the period.

Columbia has four main production zones in the country which includes the Western Zone, the Northern Zone, the Central Zone and the Eastern Zone.

5. Nigeria

Nigerians oil production in 2023 reached 1.4 million metric tons and accounted for about 2% of global oil prediction. With this, Nigeria joined the five top global palm oil producers. As of the early 60s, Nigeria topped the global palm oil producing countries with a global market share of 43% and according to the CBN, Nigeria currently spends over $500 million annually on palm oil importation.

Nigeria has also been reported as the largest consumer of palm oil in Africa consuming approximately 3 million MT of fats and oils.

Out of 18 oil producing states in Nigeria, Edo state comes tops, followed by Delta state and Ondo state.