Touton Négoce divests palm business in Côte d’Ivoire to PALMCI
CÔTE D’IVOIRE- Touton Négoce Côte d’Ivoire, a leading cocoa trading company, has sold its subsidiaries SAO and TCI to PALMCI, a subsidiary of SIFCA and the first producer of crude palm oil in Côte d’Ivoire.
The sale will give SIFCA and its subsidiary PALMCI control of palm oil plantations in Abengourou, Zabeza, and Soubre, further extending its palm oil production capabilities.
According to a press release by Enexus Finance, Touton’s financial advisor during the transaction, this divestment is in line with Touton’s strategy to refocus on cocoa trading, its core business.
“We are pleased to announce that Enexus Finance has advised Touton, a leading player in the international trading and processing of tropical agricultural raw materials, in the sale of its palm oil plantations in Côte d’Ivoire to PALMCI, a subsidiary of SIFCA, one of Côte d’Ivoire’s major agribusiness group,” Enexus Finance team stated in the press release.
With a presence on four continents, Touton has more than 175 years of experience trading tropical agricultural raw materials with subsidiaries in originating regions, and agents in key locations.
As one of the leading global players in the coffee and cocoa supply chain, the group has been instrumental in structuring the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire since the 1990s.
Although Touton has been running its palm oil operations for a while now, this sale will provide the Group with additional resources to strengthen its presence in the cocoa industry.
In addition to cocoa, Touton is active in the trade of spice, vanilla, and coffee, and this divestment will also free up resources for these other ventures.
A subsidiary of SIFCA since 1997, PALMCI operates palm oil plantations and produces crude palm oil and palm kernel oil.
The subsidiary operates over 40,000 hectares of industrial plantations and sources from 30,000 smallholder planters.
With this transaction, PALMCI acquires 1,300 hectares of palm plantations, continuing its development strategy in the oilseed sector and increasing its crude palm oil production capacity to support food security in Côte d’Ivoire.
Growing demand for palm oil in West Africa has made local production a top priority to reduce reliance on imports from Asia.
According to ReportLinker, a reputable market research specialist, Ivorian palm oil consumption is predicted to reach 323,000 metric tons by 2026, an increase of 2% year-on-year.
Since 2017, Ivorian demand has grown by 0.6% annually, with the country ranking 12th in the world in 2021.
Therefore, investment in local production is instrumental in meeting local demand.
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