VEGETABLE OILS MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Vegetable Oils Market Drivers:

Favorable government policies on usage of vegetable oil across various countries to augment market growth

For instance, EU’s vegetable oil consumption in biofuel has been raised due to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). This directive, established in 2009, requires 10% of the energy consumption in road and rail transport in 2020 to be from renewable sources. EU Member States (countries) are required to implement this target with national laws and incentives, such as blending mandates. Palm oil contributes around 20% to the production of biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) and renewable diesel (hydrotreated vegetable oil) in the EU.

Growing demand from lubricants, paints, and paper application to propel market growth

Vegetable oils are being increasingly used as lubrication in transportation and industrial sector. For example they are used in chain saws, two-stroke engines, hydraulics, open gears, mining, mold releases, farming, and forestry equipment. Moreover, oleochemicals is a common ingredient used to manufacture industrial, household, and institutional cleaning products, such as fabric cleaners and softeners, automotive cleaners, surface cleaners, dishwashing, and care products, and industrial cleaners. A major amount of palm oil production goes into production of oleochemical, making it one of the major applications. Hence, growing industrial application of vegetable oil is expected to foster market growth.

Global Vegetable Oils Market Opportunities:

Advent of new sources and production method owing to the ongoing research and development activities is expected to offer significant growth opportunities. For instance, a research project has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, called The COSMOS Horizon 2020 EU. The project aims at reducing dependence of Europe’s oleochemical industry on imported tropical vegetable oils.

Growing popularity of plant-based oil is expected to serve significant growth opportunities in the near future. Plant based oils are often used in baking, and they can be flavored with dried or fresh herbs to create a variety of dishes. They can also be mixed with other oils to form a blended vegetable oil, like olive oil and avocado oil.

Global Vegetable Oils Market Restraints:

Growing deforestation due to increasing palm oil production is hampering production of vegetable oil

Palm oil production has been associated with deforestation, especially rainforests, to clear land for palm plantations. This is causing environmental problems, hence hampering the production of palm oil. However, various manufacturer have taken pledge to reduce environmental impact. For instance, Global beauty brands are taking note, such as L’Oréal has pledged to achieve 100% traceability on the palm oil it buys, and Estée Lauder has adopted a no-deforestation policy where palm oil suppliers must prove no trees were felled in their processes.           

Concerns associated with the processing of vegetable oils to hinder market growth

Vegetable oil is extremely fragile and can easily be damaged by heat or air, so it is always advised to stored in a cool and dark place with capped tightly to prevent oxygen from causing it to spoil. This factor is expected to hamper the market growth.