Trends in planted area for the Top 10
Khor Reports comment: The recent 3-year expansion by the ten largest plantations has averaged some 18,000 ha each year. The annual net increase in their planted area has decelerated from an average of 33,000 to11,300 and 9,300 ha per year. The recent Indonesian moratorium on deforestation has been successfully diluted by corporate and development lobbies. Indonesian planters note that uncertainty surrounding the moratorium had the impact of tamping back their country's 2010 expansion to some 300,000 ha instead of a minimum 500,000 ha per year in prior years (refer to http://khorreports-palmoil.blogspot.com/2011/05/indonesia-moratorium-eases-business-and.html ). Indonesia is widely reported as deforesting at the rate of 1 million ha per year. This implies that oil palm new plantings accounts for half of Indonesia's recent annual deforestation.