Dekel palm oil production rises, but sales weaken

West Africa-focussed agriculture company Dekel Agri-Vision said in an update on Friday that its palm oil operation continued its upward trend in production in October, marking the eighth consecutive month of increased like-for-like production year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm reported significant rises in the production of crude palm oil and palm kernel oil, with increases of 2.8% and 14.5%, respectively.

The board added that early indications for November suggested that crude palm oil production could surpass last year’s figures.

Despite the positive production trends, crude palm oil sales volumes in October were 5.4% lower than last year.

The company put the decline down to robust sales in the preceding months, particularly from July to September, which led to inventory levels returning to normalcy.

Regarding pricing, crude palm oil sales decreased from €822 per tonne in the prior month to €788 per tonne in October.

Dekel noted that local crude palm oil prices remained slightly below international prices, which also softened somewhat, trading in the range of €825 to €850 per tonne during the same period.

The firm also noted that its crude palm oil extraction rate, at 19.4% in October, was relatively low compared to historical averages.

However, it said early November data indicated a significant improvement in extraction rates over the last 10 days, coinciding with increased crude palm oil production volumes.

“With two months left in 2023 and a strong start to November, the palm oil operation remains well on track to exceed crude palm oil production, revenue and EBITDA compared to 2022 and we look forward to reporting a strong finish to the year,” said executive director Lincoln Moore.

At 0821 GMT, shares in Dekel Agri-Vision were down 2.93% at 2.184p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.