Abstract
–
The growing global demand for vegetable oils for food and for replacing fossil fuels leads to
increased oilseeds production. Almost 122 of the current 187 million tons of vegetable oils produced in the
world correspond to palm and soybean oils. The oil palm is cultivated in the tropical zone, in areas formerly
occupied by forests, and soybean oil is a by-product of protein meal production. The diversi
fi
cation of raw
materials for the vegetable oil market is thus strategic for both food and non-food sectors. Sources for
vegetable oil should be economically competitive and provide sustainability indexes higher than that
provided by oil palm and soybean. In this context, we describe the potential of
Acrocomia aculeata
,
popularly known as macauba. Macauba is an American palm from the tropical zones which presents oil
productivity and quality similar to that of the oil palm. It grows spontaneously in a wide range of
environments and it is not very water demanding. Macauba palm has a high potential for oil production and
for diversi
fi
cation of co-products with some potential of value aggregation. Such a perennial and sustainable
species will probably ful
fi
ll the requirements to become an important new commercial oilseed crop.