The
coconut palm from which we get coconut oil, is grown in more than 80 countries
of the world, however the eighteen members of the Asian and Pacific Coconut
Community (APCC), of which India is a member, produces 90% of the world’s
coconut oil production.
Coconut
trees have been cultivated for over 4,000 years in India. This fact leads most botanists to believe
that the species originated somewhere around the Indian Ocean.
Almost
every part of the coconut palm can be used by humans in some way, and has some
significant economic value. It is thought to be one of the most useful trees in
the world with a reported 360 uses, half of which are for food.
Coconut
oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel of mature coconuts that have
been harvested from the coconut palm. Coconut oil has been used in cooking and
as a health and beauty aid for many thousands of years.