Latin American members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) achieved 1M tonnes of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) production capacity in April.
The RSPO said 22% of Latin Amercia’s palm oil was now RSPO-certified, which made it the fastest growing region in terms of certified hectarage.
The 23 certified growers in the region came from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Guatemala, which collectively covered over 322,000ha of certified land.
The RSPO acknowledged the work of smallholders in the region which helped achieve the milestone. It said 15% of CSPO in Latin America came from schemed smallholders in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala, where more than 52,000ha were RSPO certified.
“In turn we’d like to recognise the great effort of these smallholders and also the companies that have accompanied them and included them in their certification process,” the RSPO said.
RSPO Latin America director Francisco Naranjo said “This number [1M] is a representation of the leadership in the region and evidence of the compromise of growers and other interested parties to reach RSPO's mission; to make sustainable palm oil the norm.”
