Helmy said palm oil was ubiquitous in everyday products, found in about half of supermarket items, and that its versatility made it highly valuable.
“Because it is versatile, it is accessible, and it can be produced sustainably by smallholders or large companies.
“What this means is that palm oil is a potential replacement for other edible oils,” he said in his keynote speech at the World Climate Summit 2025 in Belem, Brazil, last Friday.
However, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board chairman said that palm oil had long been unfairly blamed for deforestation and species loss, overshadowing the crop’s efficiency and responsible production practices.
Citing data from Our World in Data, Helmy said oil palm was four to 10 times more productive per hectare than any other edible oil crop.
“About 336 million hectares of land are planted with crops that produce edible oil. Of this, less than 10% or over 28 million hectares is planted with oil palm.
“But this 10% produces more than a third, between 33% and 40%, of all edible oils in the world. That’s about 75 to 80 million metric tonnes,” he said.
By comparison, Helmy said soybean, for example, occupied over 100 million hectares but produced less than 60 million tonnes of oil.
He also pointed to land use across agriculture where livestock occupies roughly 80% of total agricultural land, or 4.8 billion hectares, while oil palm makes up only 0.6%.
“Has the forest been cleared to plant oil palm? Yes, of course. Is most forest clearing because of oil palm? Not at all,” he said.
With global demand for edible oils and protein feedstock projected to rise by over 40% in the next two decades, Helmy said innovation was key.
He said SD Guthrie had turned to science and made advances such as GenomeSelect®, a high-yielding planting material that produces up to 20% more oil and fruits faster than previous varieties.
The seeds, commercialised in 2023, allow growers to increase yields on existing land without further expansion.
“Today’s palm is so efficient, you could replant land used to grow other oil crops, produce more oil, and return some land to forest,” he said.
Moving forward, Helmy said SD Guthrie had committed to setting aside 100,000 hectares for conservation and restoration by 2030 and developing a regenerative agriculture framework with partners.
“Even as we reduce our landbank, we expect to increase our yield. That is our commitment to sustainability, responsible land use, and future generations,” he said.
“All this is possible because the crop we are working with is the oil palm tree.”