09/03/2012 (World Bakers) - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has reported ‘unprecedented growth' for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in 2011.

From 2009 to 2011, supply of CSPO has increased by 250% (1,357,511 metric tons in 2009 to 4,798,512 metric tons in 2011) while sales volume grew by over six times, approximately 620% (343,857 metric tons in 2009 to 2,490,526 metric tons in 2011).

According to the report, the year-on-year supply of CSPO in 2011 increased by 73%, reaching 4,798,512 metric tons compared to 2,773,567 metric tons in 2010, while year-on-year sales volume increased by 94%.

The remarkable surge in supply can be attributed to the rising number of certified growers entering into RSPO's certification process.

While in 2008, RSPO could count 17 certified mills in just two countries (Malaysia and Papua New Guinea), today there are 29 grower companies with 135 certified mills in six countries: Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

"The growth of CSPO clearly reflects the inclination of sustainability standards towards palm oil," said Darrel Webber, secretary general of the RSPO. "RSPO praises the efforts of growers for embarking on the certification process and committing themselves to the RSPO Principles and Criteria."