Oil palm as a major oil crop supplies 39.66% of global edible oil production in 2023. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are extracted from fruitlets of palm oil fresh fruit bunch (FFB). Ripe FFB contained an average of 27.78% of palm oil. However Malaysian oil mill’s average oil extraction rate (OER) was 20.01% and 19.70% for the year 2021 and 2022 respectively. Reduction in OER is partly blamed on the processing of less ripe FFB. FFB harvested and graded based on ripeness index indicated by the number of fruits detached from its socket. This manual grading exaggerates abuse. Previous studies reported FFB chemical composition changed as it ripened to synthesize and accumulate lipids while losing water content. During this process, FFB loses high value dielectric permittivity component (water, €r, water ≤ 80.0) while replacing it with low value dielectric permittivity component (lipids, €r, lipids ≤ 4.0). Hence the resulting complex dielectric permittivity of the FFB reduces as it ripens due to replacement of water with lipids. This study shows the total dielectric property of ripening FFB can be to determine FFB ripeness. Mature fruitlets with high water content were found to exhibit high dielectric permittivity which then decreased as the fruitlet ripens 16–18 weeks after anthesis. Similar trend of dielectric permittivity change is observed in ripening FFB. Dielectric permittivity reduction in ripening fruitlet and FFB are at 57.7% and 27.5% respectively.