#unskilled

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“While overseas writers like to describe palm oil as a ‘low-cost’ oil, that’s actually a misunderstanding. It may be more productive by area than soy or rapeseed oil, but it’s very labour intensive, and that’s never been reflected in global prices,” Hii said. He explained that soy and rapeseed can be planted, grown and harvested mechanically, while oil palm farming must be done by hand. The clusters of fruit, weighing over 20 kg, need to be picked and moved manually, and many of the plantation workers he has interviewed suffer from kyphosis – abnormal curvature of the spine – as a result of the hard physical work. The only comparable edible oil crop is the olive, but the extra labour is reflected in the price of olive oil.

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Here's what I get from the rest of the article:

1. China is finding ways to produce palm oil, but is beat by the insanely low prices set by the current market

2. Palm oil and olive oil are comparable in their labour intensity, but only olive oil reflects it in its price

3. China created a variety called Re-You 40, its oil is less than 30% saturated fats and fatty acids, lower than the 50% in ordinary palm oil. The tree is shorter and the fruit had no kernel, which makes harvesting and processing much easier.

3. So China is (planning? in the process of?) exporting its technology to help its own firms to work overseas. Seedlings have been planted in Democratic Republic of Congo and Pacific Island State of Vanuatu.

4. China still had to tackle issues in sustainability from the production end. But China is also the world's second largest importer of palm oil. It could potentially apply pressure at consumer end to encourage greener production.

Which is why this article is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Major palm oil producers don't have much to worry back then because it knows nobody can compete against them when they are underpaying workers.

China is finding ways to wedge its foot in the game, and if it's exporting technology, it would increase reliance on China. It's terrifying because that could shape policies further, into what China likes.

And I don't think just a certification process and ban will work with the labour issues. Because you are talking about increasing the cost of goods at so many levels. This isn't just applying pressure at consumer end anymore. Because who is going to be the first to increase the price of their products? The first to do so might fail, and hurt their profits. What if there's a backlash? We could be environmental conscious all we want, but could the wages match up to that? In the end, a hard ban seems to hurt developing countries more than the rich developed countries, and we are still stuck in this cycle of crapshit.