Additional information for Chapter 31 – Return to Popondetta as District Commissioner, 1968)

 

Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil states that “Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2014.” Palm Oil is the highest yielding and most widely consumed (more than 50 million tonnes annually) vegetable oil on the planet.  But there have been environmental concerns in some countries such as Indonesia where rainforest natural habitats of Orangutans have been destroyed to make way for the Oil Palms.

 

The PNG Department of Agriculture website at www.agriculture.gov.pg/oil-palm/states that “Oil Palm is Papua New Guinea’s leading and most successful agricultural crop, generating around 40% of agricultural export earnings and providing direct income for over 160,000 rural households.  In 2008, the oil palm export revenues exceeded the K1 billion mark, and this trend has remained since. Future trends for the industry in PNG look very promising and even bigger and better outcomes are being forecasted.”