BUKIT LAWIANG: Test tubes holding plants line shelves in a Malaysian laboratory, the heart of a breeding programme for dwarf palm oil trees which scientists hope will cut costs and limit the environmental damage caused by the controversial industry.

Palm oil has become a key ingredient in everyday goods from biofuels to chocolate, leading to a production boom in the world’s top two growers, Indonesia and Malaysia.

But green groups blame rapid expansion of plantations for laying waste to jungle that is home to orangutans and other animals, as well as tribespeople’s lands, and sustained environmental campaigns have damaged its image in the West.

The adverse publicity, combined with rising stockpiles and sluggish demand from key importers, has led to precipitous falls in prices.

Now the Malaysian Palm Oil Board hopes an initiative to breed smaller trees could go some way to improving industry woes.