Purchases of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) grew by 13% in 2019 compared with the previous year, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The RSPO’s 2019 Impact Report published on 16 September shows that a total of 7.07M tonnes of CSPO was purchased by the market and overall sales increased by 13% during the 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 period.
Globally, the total RSPO certified area grew by 9% to 4.2M ha across 17 countries by the end of 2019, with certified palm oil mills producing 15.9M of CSPO and 3.38M tonnes of Certified Sustainable Palm Kernel (CSPK), respectively, a 13% and 11% year-on-year increase.
Indonesia and Malaysia remained the largest oil palm producing countries, covering a total of 81% of RSPO’s total certified area.
The 2019 Impact Report is a special edition titled Reflecting on a Decade of Growth, which documents RSPO’s achievements and performance over the past decade.
RSPO’s incoming CEO Beverley Postma said it was ‘inspiring’ to see how much had been achieved by RSPO members in the last 10 years.
“We know there is still a lot of work to be done if we truly are to achieve market transformation. I’m confident that RSPO members throughout the supply chain will work together to increase the uptake of CSPO, deliver positive impacts, and tackle the other challenges and opportunities that may come our way in 2021 and beyond,” she added.
The report also highlighted a surge in RSPO membership in the past decade to more than 4,500 members at the end of December 2019.
Other highlights included a 39% year-on-year increase in the total number of certified smallholders to 157,580, and a 20% growth in RSPO Trademark licence holders, with 958 licence holders across 60 countries in the last reporting period.
Meanwhile, 230,195ha of high conservation value (HCV) area were certified and managed by RSPO
certified members within their certified concessions.
The RSPO was formed in 2004 to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders.
