African palm oil stokes land conflict in Honduras

Growing demand for African palm oil, a key ingredient in cosmetics and processed foods, is fueling deadly land disputes in the Honduran countryside, pitting large landowners against landless peasants.

At least 78 people have been killed over the past three years as a competition for land heats up in Honduras' rich Aguan Valley, the center of the country's burgeoning African palm industry.

Large landowners have turned extensive acreage to African palm cultivation as prices for palm oil have risen in international markets.

Source: Business Recorder