Dekel Agri-Vision PLC on Tuesday said January was a record month for crude palm oil extraction and prices at its Ayenouan palm oil project in the Ivory Coast.

Dekel Agri-Vision is a West African agriculture company, with a portfolio of projects in the Ivory Coast at various stages of development.

The company noted that the extraction rate and prices were offset by weak fresh fruit bunch volumes, but that FFB prices have normalised in early February. FFB volumes were low at the beginning of February, but have begun to increase, and should continue towards the end of the month, Dekel said.

Dekel said crude palm oil prices were €1,089 per tonne in January, materially higher than international than the international price of around €950 per tonne.

The company added that its extraction rate was 23% in January, up from 21.3% in January 2022.

Cashew production, meanwhile, is steadily rising, with the backlog of unpeeled inventory set to be processed over the next month, and smooth production to begin thereafter, the Dekel said.

Executive Director Lincoln Moore said: ‘High CPO prices and CPO extraction rates continue to underpin the solid financial performance of the palm oil operation. March and April are typically the best FFB volume months and will be important in terms of driving H1 financial performance. The cashew operation is now becoming a material contributor to financial performance and we look forward to reporting ongoing quarterly statistics for Q1 2023 onwards.’

Dekel shares were down 7.5%, trading at 2.78 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London.

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