25/04/2012 (FoodNavigator.com) - Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) has reached a “milestone” with production in excess of six million tonnes but market uptake has been slowing, according to RSPO figures.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a multi stakeholder initiative, said that over six million metric tonnes (mt) of CSPO was produced worldwide in less than four years, since RSPO certification began.

Within half a year alone the growth rate was 20 per cent in terms of both CSPO production area (1,221,240 hectares to date) and CSPO annual production capacity (6,017,193mt to date).

Meanwhile 11 new palm oil mills were certified in the first quarter of 2012, bringing the total mills to 146, primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia, and increasingly Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Latin America, and West Africa

But this needs to be matched by demand, according to Adam Harrison, WWF senior policy officer, RSPO executive board member and vice president.

He said: “Whilst this is great news from the producer members showing their real and growing commitment to sustainability, what we must see now is matching action from palm oil users.”

Harrison told FoodNavigator.com: “WWF does want more companies using palm oil to commit to using certified sustainable palm oil but more importantly to start buying it now.

“Most consumers are unaware that many of the everyday products they buy may contain palm oil so the manufacturers of these goods need to take the initiative themselves.

 “The difference in price for CSPO is relatively small and since palm oil usually only makes up a small part of any given product it is something we expect consumer goods manufacturers and retailers to do as part of their commitment to sustainability.”