Palm oil is extracted from the mesocarp of the fruit of the palm Elaeis guineensis. There are a few varieties of this plant but Tenera, which is a hybrid of the Dura and the Pisifera, present abundantly through out the whole Peninsular.

            The mesocarp comprises about 70 - 80% by weight of the fruit and about 45 -50% of this mesocarp is oil. The rest of the fruit comprises the shell, kernel, moisture and other non fatty fiber.The extracted oil is known as crude palm oil (CPO) which until quite recently was known as the golden commodity.

            Palm oil like all natural fats and oils comprises mainly Triglyceries, mono and diglycerides. Free fatty acids, moisture, dirt and minor components of non oil fatty matter referred to collectively as unsaponifiable matter.