Exploring sustainable cooking oil consumption patterns in Punjab, Pakistan: A comprehensive scientific study

Abstract

Palm oil is the world’s most widely traded vegetable oil, with total trade amounting to 77.22 million metric tons of total vegetable oil production in 2023. Palm oil is usually used as the material of cooking oil and food products, biofuel, cosmetics, and other derivates. Pakistan imported $3.36B in Palm Oil, becoming the third largest importer of Palm Oil in the world. However, palm oil has faced deforestation in the last few years. To solve that, the palm oil plantation must be sustainably certified (RSPO), and the impact will increase the palm oil price. Therefore, this research aims to explore Pakistan’s sustainable cooking oil consumption patterns. This research uses purposive sampling from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and geographical locations within Pakistan. The total respondents are 52 respondents from Punjab, Pakistan. The data analysis uses descriptive statistical analysis. The results show that palm oil was the most used cooking oil (68%), followed by sunflower (22%). Over half of the participants (56%) were willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly cooking oils. Most participants (84%) were familiar with sustainable certification labels like RSPO, and most participants (82%) believed that adopting sustainable palm oil production practices could alleviate environmental and ethical concerns.