24/06/2013 (eNCA) - Palm oil producers have hit back at environmental and health activists who accuse them of damaging the environment.

Producers said critics were trying to destroy their livelihoods.

Palm oil is widely used in cosmetics, processed food and as a biofuel.

Producers in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are accused of starting fires to clear the land - this is a banned practice.

Activists have called for palm oil to be listed as an ingredient  in products, so consumers could decide whether to buy them or not.

But producers in the Ivory Coast have vowed to defend their livelihoods.

They claimed they produce a cleaner and more environmentally friendly product than their Asian peers.

Ivory Coast is seeking to double production by 2020.

Last week, several African producers held the first-ever convention dedicated to the commodity.

The Ivory Coast is Africa’s second largest palm oil producer.

It refines about 300 thousand tonnes a year, employs about 200 thousand people and generates nearly $20 billion annually.