Freetown, SIERRA LEONE – Kissy Industry processing farm product into vegetable oil has joined another company to position Sierra Leone as an export country by drastically reducing its over US$100 million spent on importation.

Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Shallop said that they are producing plus or minus 100 to 150 containers a month depending on the raw material they get as they share the market 50/50 with another competitor, Jolaks.

According to him they sell between 60 to 70 containers a month and the balance is exported to Senegal and Mali as their main markets. Each 20ft container contains 1,312 Jerry cans of vegetable oil. “We send 10 to 20 trucks as it arrives it is sold and the company wires the funds back to us” he said.

The company produces three lines from oil palm; Leo Vegetable oil, Margarine and Soap (SAS and Protector Mediated Soap) they produce 40 containers a month, but their market share is between 10 to 15 containers a month.

Shallop is hopeful that after they would have captured a greater share of the local market they will start exporting the margarine. Currently, only one or two percent of vegetable oil is imported, like the olive and sunflower oil.

Soap importation he said is now is at 20 percent since their industry and Jolaks have a soap line.

The Kissy Industry also export the by-product which is the Palm oil Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) and palm stearin to neighbouring countries like Guinea, Ghana and Senegal. He said they export 25 to 40 containers depending on the raw material they receive from Socfin and Gold Tree.

“Between 10 to 15 containers PFAD are used in producing the soap, so when we have leftovers instead of keeping them in the tanks we decide to export them.”

PFAD is a residual fatty acid rich-stream obtained in the palm oil refining process. Its potential as raw material for butyl esters syntheses using immobilized lipases (Novozym 435® and Lipozyme RM IM®) in solvent-free system have been explored.

They also have a crushing plant that they used to crush the “banga” nut called Crude Palm Kernel Oil “Nutoil” they export between 5 to 10 containers a month because most of the time Socfin does not give them the capacity they want because their production is split between them and Jolaks.

He disclosed that, phase two of their production will be to have an out-grower scheme and that the company generates 90% of its energy from EDSA source. ZIJ/12/6/2023

https://awokonewspaper.sl/kissy-industry-positions-salone-as-a-vegetable-oil-exporter/