Co-Opetition Dynamics of Palm Oil Producing Countries to Thrive in the Asymmetric Global Palm Oil Market

The global palm oil market is increasingly characterised by structural asymmetries, where importing countries, particularly in the Global North, exercise disproportionate influence through non-tariff trade barriers, sustainability certification regimes, and ESG-linked investment frameworks. These asymmetries have constrained palm oil-producing nations, primarily Indonesia and Malaysia, in asserting equitable market access. This study aims to explore how these countries utilise co- opetition strategies, simultaneously cooperation and competition, to navigate such global trade imbalances and enhance their strategic positioning. This research applies a qualitative approach using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol. Data were collected exclusively from the ScienceDirect database using refined Boolean keyword combinations, resulting in a final corpus of 31 peer-reviewed research articles published between 2020 and 2025. The articles were selected based on type (research articles), access (open access or archive), and relevance to strategic interaction among palm oil producers. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurring patterns, resulting in six dominant domains: strategic policy response, market repositioning, certification convergence, technological traceability, narrative framing, and geopolitical alignment. The findings reveal that co-opetition enables palm oil producers to balance national interests with collective action, offering resilience in an increasingly fragmented global order. The study concludes that institutionalising co-opetition frameworks may improve long-term bargaining power. Future research should examine subnational actors and extend the analysis to other commodities facing similar asymmetries.