A review is given of the annual world production of fats and oils and their increasing availability for edible and nonedible purposes. Trends in some important industrial processes (polymerization, metathesis, oxidation, etc.) are discussed and the applicability of fatty oils as specific and characteristic base materials for the organic chemical industry is compared with developments in the field of petroleum synthetics. To improve the position of fat-intermediates and fat derivatives on the world market, future research should be particularly directed to an optimal use of their specific physical, chemical and biochemical properties, and to an increased coherence between our technological and biochemical knowhow.