Edible vegetable oils worldwide production

In the 2002-2003 growing season, 30.6 million metric tons of soybean oil were produced worldwide, constituting about half of the worldwide edible vegetable oil production, and thirty percent of all fats and oils produced, including animal fats and oils derived from tropical plants. Soybean oil is produced in larger amounts than any other traded oil (about 23 million tonnes a year) and is grown particularly in the United States, followed by Brazil, Argentina, and China. ... 

In the past decade, palm oil has become internationally well known as a vegetable oil suitable for various applications—both edible and nonedible. This is brought about by it being a versatile oil for the production of various products, with technical and economic advantages over other oils and fats. Its price competitiveness and readily available supply is able to serve the needs of oils and fats consumers worldwide. 

The annual worldwide production of vegetable oil is currently about 60 m metric tons of which nearly one quarter is derived from soybeans. The majority of oil produced is used as edible oil in the nutrition of man and domestic animals. With a few notable exceptions the composition of plant oils has apparently remained little changed over the thousands of years of domestication and selective breeding where the main emphasis has been to produce hardy and productive varieties. 

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