Wilmar

Wilmar: is planning to open a US$16m palm-oil refinery in Ghana next month as part of a drive to expand African operations and boost local production. The plant will be able to process 1,000 mt/day, making it West Africa’s second-biggest palm-oil refinery. Wilmar aims to be number one with its edible-oil brand and with distribution in the region, noting Ghana as an ideal gateway. Edible palm oil, which is used throughout West Africa for cooking, will be packaged at the plant and sold domestically as well as exported to markets in Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Mali. In Nov, Wilmar acquired 35k ha of oil-palm plantations in Nigeria on the expectation that global demand will continue to rise. It’s also working to increase palm-oil yields at Benso Oil Palm Plantation in western Ghana, which it bought in 2011. West Africa is a net importer of palm oil even though the trees are native to the region, with demand exceeding supply by an est 1 m mt/yr, according to the UN Food and Agri Organization. Wilmar is+1.1% at $3.62, vs the STI’s -0.5% move.