Oil palm is a typical crop of the rainy tropical lowlands that requires a deep soil, a relatively stable high temperature and continuous moisture throughout the year. Processing oil palm fruits for edible oil has been practiced in Africa for thousands of years, and the oil produced, highly coloured and flavoured, is an essential ingredient in much of the traditional West African cuisine. Palm oil is largely produced in Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Rivers, Edo, Imo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Cross River and Delta.