Extracted from the fruit of the palm tree, the oil is used in a wide range of food products, personal care items, animal feeds, and biofuels due to its unique properties. Most supermarkets, including sari-sari stores, around the country are selling palm oil for its low prices. It can easily be found on market shelves and, most important, due to its excellent health effects. Palm oil is a rich source of vitamins A and E, which are essential for maintaining good health. Vitamin A is important for healthy vision while vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the body against oxidative stress. Palm oil also contains a high percentage of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, which are important for energy production and the absorption of essential nutrients. Additionally, a study published in the journal Nutrients found that consuming palm oil as part of a healthy diet did not raise cholesterol levels and might even have a protective effect on heart health. Many developing countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, consider palm oil as an important cash crop as the two countries currently produce more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil supply, reports said. The production of palm oil also provides employment opportunities for millions of people, and generates significant revenue for local economies. The global demand for palm oil is expected to continue to increase in the coming years, creating further economic opportunities for producers. Although palm oil has been associated with deforestation and habitat loss, experts have also identified several environmental benefits to the use of palm oil. They said that oil palm plantations are highly efficient at converting sunlight into biomass, which means that they require less land than other crops to have the same amount of oil. This makes palm oil a more sustainable and efficient crop than other vegetable oils. In addition, the waste products from palm oil production can be used to generate bioenergy, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a source of renewable energy. The environmental impact of palm oil production, however, is a major concern. Efforts are being made to promote sustainable palm oil practices to ensure that palm oil is produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Experts believe that by propagating palm trees in the country and by focusing on sustainable production methods and responsible sourcing, it is possible to reap the benefits of palm oil, which could boost the local economy and provide employment to thousands of Filipinos while minimizing its negative impacts to the environment. Due to the many uses of palm oil, its price must be stabilized, according to these experts, for when it increases, prices for other products would also rise.