Edible Oil Company (EOCD), a subsidiary of Dubai Investments with oil seed crushing facilities, has crushed over 150,000 tonnes of seeds in the first half of the year.

This includes 60,000 tonnes of Canola while the rest was Soya, said a statement.

The achievement signals a rise in production levels in the first half of 2013, in relation to the annual output in 2012 which stood at 290,000 tonnes of Sunflower, Canola and Soya, it said.

This is a significant achievement considering the economic slowdown in the company’s target markets coupled with low demand of bio diesel industries in the EU region, the statement said.

Bio Diesel is a green initiative to reduce carbon emissions and is prepared by chemically reacting vegetable oils. This fuel is generally blended with petro diesel from 5 per cent to 20 per cent and is used in automobiles.

The increase in the production follows an Dh8 million ($2.2 million) re-engineering phase undertaken by EOCD in 2011.The resulting switchable production feature enabled the plant to execute the crushing of Soya, Canola and Sunflower seeds throughout the year. The plant was producing only Soya oil previously.

Shukri Al Mehairi, general manager of Dubai Investments Industries [DII], the industrial arm of DI, said: “With the phenomenal capacity expansion achieved after the plant was re-commissioned, EOCD has grown its network to include customers in high potential markets such as Europe, India, China and South East Asia.

“Interestingly, the demand for products such as Canola oil is increasing in these regions as a form of bio diesel and a prospective alternative to non-renewable sources of energy. As a result, we have been successful in catering not only to the local food industry, but also to international entities that support sustainable endeavours.”

The EOCD’s plant is located in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, adjacent to a berthing facility that docks the ships used for importing high quality seeds from Canada and Australia. The proximity reduces the time and logistical elements for acquiring the raw material, said the statement.

With a fully sustainable production process in place, EOCD additionally utilizss the surplus from the seed-crushing process by supplying it to poultry and cattle farms in the region and abroad, where seed meal is used as a major feed ingredient. - TradeArabia News Service