This article explains the rise of palm oil as a global commodity during the twentieth century as the result of cooperation and competition between two different clusters in former colonial territories. The connection between these two locations was mediated by Western companies, colonial officials, scientists, and businessmen. Eventually, the Southeast Asian cluster, organized on estate lines inherited from rubber, outcompeted the old one in Africa, mostly based on the farming of semi-wild trees. The article investigates the activities of scientists and businessmen exchanging information, knowledge, and practice between Africa and Asia for almost a century. It shows that cooperation among communities of practice helped to advance palm oil knowledge, but also created increased rivalry between the two locations. Thanks to the mobility of experts, and to knowledge exchange in colonial and early postcolonial times, multinationals were able to replicate clusters across locations with similar climate, taking advantage of a business environment more conducive to foreign investment.

中文翻译：

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全球棕榈油集群的转型：非洲与东南亚集群竞争的动态（c.1900-1970）

本文解释了棕榈油在 20 世纪作为全球商品的崛起，这是前殖民领土上两个不同集群之间合作与竞争的结果。这两个地点之间的联系是由西方公司、殖民官员、科学家和商人调解的。最终，在继承自橡胶的产业线上组织起来的东南亚产业集群在竞争中胜过了非洲的旧产业集群，后者主要以种植半野生树木为基础。这篇文章调查了近一个世纪以来科学家和商人在非洲和亚洲之间交换信息、知识和实践的活动。它表明，实践社区之间的合作有助于推进棕榈油知识，但也加剧了两个地区之间的竞争。由于专家的流动性，