Heroes of the palm oil industry

THIS year marks palm oil’s 100 years in Malaysia. It was 100 years ago when the then almost unknown oil palm was first planted here. The British was largely responsible for bringing in the first batch of seeds of this crop, a native of West Africa, into this country. However, many Europeans had a hand in pioneering the cultivation of a crop that would change the global equation for trade in oils and fats decades later.

A French entrepreneur, Henri Fauconnier, was recorded in history to be among the earliest who dabbled in the planting of oil palm.