By the end of 2014, Unilever will only buy palm oil traceable to known sources, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant said Tuesday.

The announcement was made at a sustainable palm oil meeting in Medan, North Sumatra, during which it was revealed only 15 percent of the world's palm oil is currently certified as sustainable.

Palm oil is an important raw material for many products and is the most widely used vegetable oil. However, the growing global demand has resulted in a massive expansion of plantations across the forests of southeast Asia and Africa, leading to deforestation.

Unilever is one of the world's major buyers of palm oil for use in products such as margarine, ice cream, soap and shampoo. It purchases around 1.5 million tonnes of palm oil and its derivatives annually, which represents about 3 percent of the world's total production.

Unilever's plan is that all palm oil bought by them will be traceable to known sources by the end of 2014 and that all palm oil bought by 2020 will come from traceable and certified sources.

The meeting during which the announcement was made, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, was first convened in 2004 by the industry and civil society groups including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Endi

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