“We anticipate larger crop yields earlier than expected which will be processed into crude oil and transported for refining in Jinja,” Kodey Rao, the managing director of Bidco Uganda said.

He said the plan to grow oil palm on the island and to build an oil palm extraction and refinery plant, would reduce Uganda’s import bill for vegetable oil. The fresh palm fruit bunches must be processed within twenty-four hours of harvest and that is why the plant must be placed near the company plantation already supporting about 600 farmers as out growers.

“It will also bring an alternative source of livelihoods not only to the islanders but also to other Ugandans with the required skills,” he said. Uganda continues to import more than 70 per cent of its vegetable oil and fat products at an estimated annual cost of more than $150 million mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

Kodey said the project would also rehabilitate the deforested land, due to human activities around Lake Victoria.

On the commercial scene, he said East African countries will soon cut down on the money spent each year on importing vegetable oil as Uganda starts local harvest of fresh fruits of oil palm. The announcement comes barely a week after the company added Fortune International, triple-refined oil manufactured in Uganda, to its range of products.

Fatima Ali Mohammed, the sales and distribution team leader of Bidco marketing said the company sought to add choice for consumers and its brand strength it would be maintained at a similar price with the already existing brands.

The company hopes to use this brand to launch an onslaught on its regional competitors to consolidate its market share.
“Uganda will be the hub but we intend to distribute the product beyond regional frontiers,” she said.

She said the brand brings to five the total number of cooking oils and four laundry soap brands against 16 in the same category fot Mukwano Group, its main competitor. Bidco is a subsidiary of Bidco Oil Refineries Kenya, Josovina and Wilmar, an international corporation and one of the consortiums members in the project.
It was commissioned in 2004 and simultaneously started construction of a refinery valued at $26 million and a palm oil plantation in Jinja and Kalangala respectively.

The project suffered criticisms in its initial phase over the government’s generous tax incentives to the company and environmentalists have also been concerned that palm oil is a mono-crop and would therefore affect the biodiversity of the forest.

Another concern was that the soil fertilizers applied would end up into the lake and pollute the water, and that natural trees were being cut down for oil palm. Kodey said the company had cautiously regarded the environmental impact assessment report avoiding any effect on the Eco-system around the lake.