Dekel Agri-Vision PLC said on Tuesday that it would buy the remaining stake in the Ivory Coast project and that it would begin full commercial production of the Cashew Operation this year.
Agribusiness Dekel Agri-Vision, based in West Africa, currently has a portfolio of projects at various stages of development. These include a large-scale cashew processing facility in Tiebissou, a fully functioning palm oil project in Ayenouan, and a 24,000 hectare brownfield development site in Guitry that is currently being prepped for development.
After purchasing a 29% beneficial interest in Pearlside Holdings Ltd for GBP619,000, Dekel has increased its stake in the cashew project to 100%.
Capro CI SA, the company that owns the cashew business, is completely owned by Pearlside. The consideration will be satisfied through the issuance of 20.0 million additional shares, or 3.6% of Dekel’s increased share capital.
The raw cashew nut industry suffered losses of GBP346,000 in 2021. The additional 29% interest purchased results in an attributable loss of GBP10,000.
Dekel stated that the cashew plant was now converting to full-scale commercial production in the future. The facility is expected to begin operations with a processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year, with the possibility of adding additional capacity by lengthening labour shifts.
The business anticipates that the operation will generate cash flow at its initial processing capacity.
We think now is the perfect time to grow our interest because the cashew processing operations at Tiebissou are currently moving to full-scale commercial production. We believe this will scale up and diversify our revenues and alter our financial profile. Executive Director Lincoln Moore stated, “We consider the pricing of this purchase as value accretive for Dekel stockholders.
“Additionally, part of our portfolio consists of the well-established Palm Oil businesses at Ayenouan, which are well-positioned to profit from the high prices for crude palm oil around the world in the coming Ivory Coast peak harvest season. We think we have a clear path toward creating a multi-project, multi-commodity agriculture company that has the ability to bring huge advantages to the local smallholders we collaborate closely with as well as significant rewards for investors.”
On Tuesday morning in London, shares of Dekel Agri-Vision were trading 3.2% higher at 3.20 pence each.
