Palm oil is contained in many daily usage products, such as cosmetic products, skin care products, detergents, food and beverages. The demand of palm oil has been increasing greatly. Global palm oil production has doubled over the last decade, and the global demand is expected to double again by 2050(WWF, n.d.).

 

Products that contain unsustainable palm oil | Source: Activist News

 

Palm oil products | Source: Nature Moms

Singapore also contributes greatly to the consumption of and demand for palm oil.

In the past 50 years, Singapore’s annual domestic consumption of palm oil has increased by more than 8700% (IndexMundi, 2017). In 2016, Singapore’s domestic consumption of palm oil was 355000MT, while the United States consumed 1285000MT (IndexMundi, 2017). Even though the United States is 13420 times larger in land area and 58 times larger in population size than Singapore, Singapore consumes more than one quarter of the domestic consumption of palm oil in the United States! (NationMaster, 2013-2017)

The growing demand and consumption of palm oil has led to a series of negative impacts on the environment, and Singapore definitely contributes significantly to it.