Sifca to strengthen palm oil operations in West Africa

Ivory Coast palm-oil refinery Sifca has announced plans to invest $417m over the next five years in plantations and factories in Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia.

The development is part of the company’s efforts to expand its palm oil operations in West Africa.

The company will use $70m it raised through the sale of bonds last week to finance the expansion.

Sifca chief executive officer Bertrand Vignes was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the company will fund about 36% of the expansion project, while the remaining investment required will be funded through bank loans and partnerships.

"Our strategy is to consolidate our footprint in West Africa and to continue growing in the countries where we are based," Vignes said.

The company plans to increase its palm oil output by 33% to 400,000t annually, over the next four years.

As part of the expansion, the company is planting palm-oil seeds on 15,000 hectares of land in south-eastern Liberia and plans to develop 14,000 hectares of plantations in Nigeria.

In addition, it is in negotiations with Singapore-based palm oil trader Wilmar International to acquire a stake in a facility in Ghana, and the plant will have the capacity to produce 1,000t of oil per day.

Sifca, which is also a leading rubber producer in West Africa, is seeking to strengthen its presence in the palm oil and rubber sectors in the continent.

Headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sifca is engaged in the cultivation, processing and marketing of vegetable oil, natural rubber and cane sugar.

The company offers vegetable oils, such as crude and refined palm oil products, margarine, fatty acids and stearin products.