₦4.5bn Investment Targets Soybean Value Addition
Cardinal Torch Commits ₦4.5bn to Ogun Soybean Processing Plant
Cardinal Torch Company Limited is investing ₦4.5 billion in a soybean processing plant in Ogun State, as the company moves from commodity trading into agro-processing and manufacturing.
The proposed facility is expected to process soybeans into edible oil and other products serving the food-processing, vegetable-oil and animal-feed industries.
The investment is aimed at increasing domestic value addition while reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported vegetable oils.
The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, David Olurin, said the strategy is to process more agricultural commodities within Nigeria rather than exporting them in raw form.
The investment follows the successful raising of ₦10 billion through the first series of the company’s Commercial Paper Programme, which has an overall programme size of ₦30 billion.
Cardinal Torch is also completing a 10-tonne-per-day cashew processing plant in Ogun, while planning future investments in cocoa processing and fast-moving consumer goods.
The company said its broader strategy is to retain more agricultural value within Nigeria, create jobs and build products capable of competing in international markets.
