Olam International is an agri-business company, operating in 60 countries and supplying food and industrial raw materials to over 20,900 customers worldwide, placing them among the world's largest suppliers of cocoa beans, coffee, cotton and rice.

[14][15] In 2003, Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings, through its wholly owned subsidiary Seletar Investments, took a stake in Olam, followed by International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Olam's free float owned by public shareholders accounts for approximately 15.9% of the total issued share capital in 2020.

[21] The group's food-ingredients division, OFI, had planned an IPO in late 2022, which was delayed due to the volatility caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[24] Olam announced in July 2013, that it would sell its cotton assets in Zimbabwe, with the preferred buyer being a private equity company.

The decision followed from its 2019 business review, and a multi-year plan announced early in 2019 to invest US$3.5 billion into key growth areas, such as edible nuts, coffee and cocoa, while shedding other sectors.

[28] In the statement released by the firm, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), will consist of its cocoa, coffee, edible nuts, spices and dairy businesses, Olam Global Agri (OGA) will include grains and animal feed, edible oils, rice, cotton and commodity financial services.

[43] The photos and videos featured in the NGO report show Olam bulldozing Gabonese rainforests for rubber and to establish what they intended to build as Africa's largest palm oil plantation.

[56] On 13 September 2017 NGO Mighty Earth released a second report[57] documenting findings that Olam purchases cocoa grown illegally in national parks and other protected forests in the Ivory Coast.

The report accused Olam of endangering the forest habitats of chimpanzees, elephants and other wildlife populations by purchasing cocoa linked to deforestation.

[61] Olam was notified of the findings of Mighty Earth's investigation and did not deny that the company sourced its cocoa from protected areas in the Ivory Coast.

[70] In 2021, Olam International was named in a class action lawsuit filed by eight former child slaves from Mali who allege that the company aided and abetted their enslavement on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast.

The suit accused Olam (along with Nestlé, Cargill, Mars, Incorporated, Barry Callebaut, The Hershey Company, and Mondelez International) of knowingly engaging in forced labor, and the plaintiffs sought damages for unjust enrichment, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.