Farmers across Asia are busy planting trees to boost palm oil production, but nurseries are struggling to keep up with demand for sprouts and seedlings, risking a delay in the industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The seedlings shortfall could slow plantation, capping production growth and keeping palm oil prices elevated, industry officials said, as the world already grapples with lofty inflation. Asia produces more than 90% of the world's cheapest edible oil used in cooking, baking and cosmetics.
The production growth of palm oil stalled in recent years, partly due to labor shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, but farmers are now looking to replant or expand plantations amid rising prices.