Supermarkets could help to save rare endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger and the orangutan by increasing the price of products containing palm oil providing the money raised went to forest conservation, a study has found.

Placing a price premium on items containing palm oil ingredients – which amount to about half of all supermarket products – would have a significant effect on protecting the remaining forests that have not yet been completely destroyed by palm oil plantations, scientists said.

Vast areas of tropical forests have already been cleared to make room for palm-oil plantations, which are one of the most profitable cash crops for developing countries. However, they are a major threat to the survival of some of the world’s rarest species such as the Sumatran elephant and the Javan rhino.

The orangutan's habitat is being decimated by palm oil plantations (Getty) (Getty Images)

The study found that consumers would be prepared to pay between 15 and 56 per cent extra for products containing palm oil if they knew that it would help to protect the natural habitats of threatened animals and plants in Indonesia and Africa, where palm plantations have spread rapidly over the past 20 years.

Scientists found in research on supermarket shoppers and a palm-oil company in Sumatra, Indonesia, that the higher prices people were will willing to pay for “conservation grade” palm oil more than made up for the extra costs the company incurred when conserving nearby forests.

“International governments have failed to stem the environmental damage caused by palm oil plantations. We wanted to find a new way of halting biodiversity loss that actually becomes profitable for private companies,” said Professor Ian Bateman of the University of East Anglia, one of the study’s lead authors.

“Consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainably grown palm oil has the potential to incentivise private producers enough to engage in conservation activities. This would support Red List species,” Professor Bateman said.

Palm oil is found in about half of the products sold in supermarket shelves. The cheap vegetable oil s now included in many processed foods, such as margarine and cakes, as well as cosmetic items such as lipstick, shampoo and soap – as well as being used as a biofuel.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, surveyed palm oil plantations, nurseries, forests and cleared land in Sumatra where large areas of virgin forests have been replaced by palm plantations because of the high profitability of the oil crop.

In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Borneo Destruction of the rainforest, deforestation in Borneo In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Brazil Aerial view af an area devastated by clandestine gold mining in the Jamanxim National Forest, state of Para. With 1,3 million hectares, the Jamanxim National Forest is a microsm that replicates what happens in the Amazon, where thousands of hectares of land are prey of illegal woodcutters, stock breeders and gold miners In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Amazon rainforest Intensive logging makes rainforest fires more likely as the Earth warms Rex In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Peru Miners known as "Maraqueros" ready a rustic type of hydraulic jet known locally as a "Chupadera," after hauling the device about 16-meters deep into a crater at a gold mine process in La Pampa in Peru's Madre de Dios region. A new threat now looms for the estimated 20,000 wildcat miners who toil in huge scar of denuded rainforest known as La Pampa In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Peru A rope hangs around the trunk of a tree at a illegal gold mining process in La Pampa in Peru's Madre de Dios region. An estimated 20,000 miners toil in this malarial expanse of denuded rainforest known as La Pampa In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Amazon rainforest The extent of the environmental damage in the Amazon rainforest afp/getty images In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Indonesia Destruction remains from tropical rainforest in Kuala Cenaku in Riau Province, Sumatra. Norway entered a partnership with Indonesia to support Indonesia's efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peat lands. The business of pulp, palm oil and wood are causing the deforestation of Sumatra, the largest island owned by Indonesia, and is contributing global climate change to the extinction of many of the world's rare species In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Malaysia An area that has been cleared of rainforest to make way for a palm oil plantation in Sabah, Malaysia CORBIS In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Indonesia Regenerated palm oil trees are seen growing on the site of destroyed tropical rainforest in Kuala Cenaku GETTY IMAGES In pictures: Biggest threats to the rainforests Brazil Brazil launched the Amazon Fund, aimed at protecting the rainforest so vital to the world's climate, and at combating climate change. In December 2008 Brazil launched a national climate change plan which proposed to cut the country's deforestation rate in half by 2018 Getty Images

The researchers found that concentrating conservation efforts on areas near existing forests produced the best results, with an emphasis on land that was away from existing roads which reduced the impact on company profits. They used these finding to formulate rules for optimal habitat conservation.

“One way to save species and biodiversity threatened by agricultural expansion is to show companies the business case for conservation. This study shows how important it is for industry and scientists to work together to find potential win-win solutions,” said Brendan Fisher of the University of Vermont.