Local Processing of Oil Palm

Palm oil is common edible product derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms.

It is valued domestically for cooking food including soup, beans, porridge, and a vital ingredient in food manufacturing, beauty products and as biofuel.

Global reliance on palm oil is underscored by the steady rise in its use, with average consumption per person put 8kg of palm oil a year. Annual production quadrupled, from 15.2m tonnes to 62.6m tones between 1995 and 2015, and is expected to notch 240m tonnes by mid 21^st century. 3 billion people in 150 countries use products containing palm oil

As at 2020, global market for Palm Oil was estimated at US$42.8 Billion, with a projection of US$57.2 Billion by 2026 (Research and Markets)

What goes into Oil palm production for domestic use?

On the local front, the processing is manual, quite energy sapping. It commences from the harvest of the ripe bunches by a professional harvester after which they are conveyed to a local mill.

The ripe bunches are then subjected to series of processes which last for a week or more. They dissected into pieces so as to let loose each seed from the ripe bunches within a week.

Thereafter, the seeds are cleaned up and boiled for about three hours or more depending on the intensity of the fire and the cooking pot being used.

The boiled palm seeds are later transferred to a special fabricated grinding machine which later separates the kernel from oil soaked chaff.

This process takes 30 to 50 minutes.

The chaff is thereafter pressed through a compressor to generate the much awaited clean oil.

Other traditional mode requires the processor to deposit the chaff into a pit while local professionals in this regard engage his or her feet to facilitate underground stirring with the hands complementing the activity thereby generating raw oil.