Inauguration of Mill and First Sale of Palm Oil

RNS Number : 1615G

Equatorial Palm Oil plc

09 May 2011

 



9 May 2011

Equatorial Palm Oil Plc

("EPO" or the "Company")

Inauguration of Liberia's first commercial Palm Oil Mill

and

 First sales of Crude Palm Oil achieved

Equatorial Palm Oil plc, (AIM: PAL), the AIM listed palm oil development company with operations in Liberia, is pleased to announce the inauguration of Liberia's first palm oil mill (the 'Mill') at its Palm Bay Estate in Grand Bassa County, by the President of Liberia together with the commencement of Crude Palm Oil ('CPO') sales.

Liberia's First Commercial Palm Oil Mill

The US$3 million Mill was inaugurated following eight months of construction and testing, including the processing of oil palm bunches. The plant is currently processing 30 tonnes of fresh oil palm bunches ('FFB') daily sourced from the surrounding 3,500 hectares of existing oil palms rehabilitated by the Company over the past 12 months. An additional 1,200 hectares are being prepared for the 2011 planting of new oil palms currently in the nursery.

Daily production is averaging five tonnes of CPO per day at an extraction rate of 17%. Production is expected to rise as the Mill reaches full capacity in July 2011 with output in the order of 15 tonnes of CPO per day.  

First Sales of CPO

First sales of CPO in to the Liberian market occurred during April and a larger sale tender process is to be undertaken during May.

The Mill was inaugurated by the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who attended and spoke at the event expressing her appreciation of the work completed and the importance of this project for Liberia.  Also in attendance were other national and local government decision makers.

During the visit to Palm Bay, the President also saw the rehabilitated areas, land prepared for new planting, the nursery with over 200,000 young palms and a primary school established and operated by the Company.  In the latest of several local charitable and community development projects being undertaken to improve the social well-being of the communities in which it operates, the Company was pleased to present a cheque for US$25,000 towards a new local women's market in the nearby town of Buchanan, which will have over 100 stalls for trading of goods and local produce.

Michael Frayne, Executive Chairman, commented:

"The inauguration of the Mill and commencement of CPO sales are two important milestones for Equatorial Palm Oil as the Company continues with its development plans to become a significant palm oil producer in the West African region. The Mill is a tangible example of the Company's continued investment providing a positive benefit for Liberia as it drives to create additional value for shareholders.

The Company seeks to continue planting and developing additional land areas to reach its planting target of 1,200 hectares in 2011 increasing to higher planting rates in subsequent years."

The Company will provide a further update in its statement of results for the year ended 31 December 2010 expected to be announced at the end of this month.

Enquiries:

Equatorial Palm Oil plc Michael Frayne, Chairman	[phone]
Shore Capital & Corporate Ltd. NOMAD and Joint Broker Pascal Keane Edward Mansfield	[phone]
Mirabaud Securities LLP Joint Broker Peter Krens	[phone]
Pelham Bell Pottinger Financial  / Corporate PR Charles Vivian	[phone]

Notes to Editors:

Information on Equatorial Palm Oil Ltd.

The Company's objective is to become a global, sustainable, low cost producer of crude palm oil.

The Company is developing a low-cost CPO production-base sourced from its initial land bank. The Group has acquired oil palm mills to process the Fresh Fruit Bunches ('FFB') harvested from the plantations in Crude Palm Oil ('CPO') and other related products. The CPO produced is initially intended for sale into the local Liberian and West African markets where it is a key staple food. West Africa is currently a significant net importer of CPO. The longer term objective is to develop sufficient scale in its production and processing of CPO in order to widen exports to a broader international market including Europe, where the company will benefit from geographical advantage in freight costs and increasing demand for a sustainable product.

 

END

 

 

MSCBIGDUUXGBGBL