Palm oil usage worldwide 2015/16-2023/24

In 2022/23, palm oil consumption amounted to around 78 million metric tons worldwide. That figure is projected to decrease to approximately 77 million metric tons during 2023/24. 

Consumption of palm oil worldwide

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil commonly used for food products, detergents, and cosmetics. In the United States, palm oil consumption amounts to approximately 1.7 million metric tons annually. In comparison, palm oil consumption in the European Union is about three times as high. Nonetheless, palm oil consumption in the European Union has dropped significantly during the last two years. After constantly being close to 6.6 million metric tons between 2015 and 2020, consumption levels dropped to five million in 2021 and has not increased much since. Palm oil consumption in Indonesia is almost 20 million metric tons, which is significantly more than in any other country in the world. Indonesia’s palm oil consumption has nearly tripled during the last decade.

Palm oil in China

China's total imports of palm oil amount to approximately 7.2 million tons per year. More than half of those are imported from Indonesia, the leading palm oil producer worldwide. Furthermore, China's imports of palm oil from Malaysia amount to about 1.7 million metric tons, which is slightly less than a quarter of the total palm oil imports. In 2022, China’s total consumption of palm oil amounted to about 6.7 million metric tons. China’s palm oil consumption saw a noticeable increase in 2018. That year, consumption levels increased by almost two million metric tons, from 5.1 to seven million metric tons. Chinese palm oil consumption has remained at a similar level ever since, except during the pandemic year of 2021.