Dekel Agri-Vision Plc (LON:DKL), the West African agriculture company focused on building a portfolio of sustainable and diversified projects, has provided a May production update for its Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d’Ivoire.
Key Highlights
· The Palm Oil Operation delivered a third consecutive month of very strong performance with Fresh Fruit Bunch (‘FFB’) volumes and Crude Palm Oil (‘CPO’) production increasing a substantial 163.9% and 144.9% respectively compared to May 2022.
· The CPO production result was a record for the month of May and a continuation of the later than usual high season which will now certainly see the Palm Oil Operation deliver a materially higher half year production performance in 2023 compared to 2022.
· CPO sales quantities increased 17.8% in May compared to last year and Palm Kernel Oil (‘PKO’) production increased 93.9% compared to May last year. The recent spike in production has seen inventory levels of CPO and PKO at levels materially higher than last year which should drive strong sales quantities over the coming months.
· CPO sales price achieved remained strong at €953 per tonne, a slight decrease from last month reflecting the recent softening of international CPO prices which are now trading around €800-850 per tonne. A local CPO price premium continues to be achieved, however, we expect some further softening of local prices in the next 1-2 months, albeit prices achieved still remain well above historical averages.
· The CPO extraction rate improved slightly from the previous month to 21.8% from 21.4% and we are seeing further improvement in June 2023. Although seasonal peak production is now tapering off, our early guidance for June 2023 CPO production remains significantly higher than June 2022.
· Similar to last month, the financial performance for May 2023 was strong and has positioned the Palm Operation to deliver an excellent H1 2023 period of financial performance.
| May-23 | May-22 | Change | |
| FFB processed (tonnes) | 24,301 | 9,207 | 163.9% |
| CPO Extraction Rate | 21.8% | 23.5% | -7.8% |
| CPO production (tonnes) | 5,306 | 2.167 | 144.9% |
| CPO Sales (tonnes) | 4,741 | 4,025 | 17.8% |
| Average CPO price per tonne | €953 | €1,056 | -9.8% |
| Palm Kernel Oil (‘PKO’) production (tonnes) | 320 | 165 | 93.9% |
| PKO Sales (tonnes) | Nil | 148 | n/a |
| Average PKO price per tonne | n/a | €1,606 | n/a |
Lincoln Moore, Dekel‘s Executive Director, said: “May 2023 was a really pleasing month for the Palm Oil Operation headlined by a 144.9% increase in CPO production compared to May last year which was also a record level of production for the month of May. Whilst CPO prices have softened from near record levels, the current prices remain historically strong and we continue to achieve a local premium to international prices. Overall, the Palm Oil Operation remains well positioned to deliver an excellent H1 2023 outcome.”
Dekel Agri-Vision Plc is a multi-project, multi-commodity agriculture company focused on West Africa. It has a portfolio of projects in Côte d’Ivoire at various stages of development: a fully operational palm oil project in Ayenouan where fruit produced by local smallholders is processed at the Company’s 60,000tpa capacity crude palm oil mill and a cashew processing project in Tiebissou, which is currently transitioning to full commercial production in 2023.
