NBPOL to open refinery in UK this month

Business, Main Stories

 PAPUA New Guinea’s largest palm oil producer, New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL), will open a refinery in Liverpool, UK this month.
Business Times last week reported that the K83 million worth and 150,000 tonne-a-year refinery will be opened by NBPOL at an undisclosed date.
It is the first for any European country to have a sustainable palm oil refinery, in a development that environmentalists and industry hope will accelerate the move away from the deforestation often associated with the crop, according to Business Times paper.
NBPOL owns certified sustainable plantations in Papua New Guinea and was reported that it has signed up United Biscuits, the maker of McVitie’s, and Jordans, the cereal brand, as customers.
The group has a fully traceable, dedicated supply chain, eliminating the risk that the sustainable product has been mixed with unsustainable palm oil before it is used in food and personal care products.
The opening comes amid renewed criticism of the use of some palm oil connected with deforestation.
The paper reported that a recent campaign by Greenpeace against Nestlé led to 100,000 people writing to the head of the Swiss company and more than one million people downloading a viral video.
The UK-based business newspaper quoted Alan Chaytor, executive director of NBPOL, saying “the group, which has invested K83 million in the 150,000 tonnes-a-year refinery, was attracting plenty of interest in its product”