Greasy palms: European buyers of Indonesian palm oil.

The international trade in palm oil is a key driver of rain forest destruction and human rights abuses on a massive scale. This report is one of two research projects undertaken for Friends of the Earth in 2003 into the impacts of the palm oil industry in South East Asia, its links to the European market and the involvement of European companies in the palm oil trade. Chapters 1 - 3 of this report (examining the growth of the European market for oil palm and the Indonesian export market) are printed here. Chapters 4 - 6 (focusing on the palm oil market in UK, the Netherlands and Sweden) are available on request from Friends of the Earth. Research methodology into the impacts of palm oil included monitoring reports compiled by the Indonesian non-governmental organisation (NGO) SawitWatch and interviews with community members and local activists. The SawitWatch data had been gathered over a period of five years, based on field investigations, meetings with local community members, media reports and regular monitoring. The analysis of the European market focused particularly on the companies trading in palm oil in the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden as well as giving a general overview of the trade in oil palm and the growth of the European market. This research is available in two reports: (1) Greasy palms: the social and ecological impacts of large-scale oil palm plantation development in South East Asia; (2) Greasy palms: European buyers of Indonesian palm oil. A summary of the two research reports (Greasy Palms - palm oil, the environment and big business) is also available.