Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Vegetable Oil Company (Advoc) on Wednesday said it would achieve record production this year on the back of growing exports to the Gulf and Iraq.
"We are on track to exceed 100,000 tonnes in 2006 against a figure of 55,000 tonnes last year," said Colin Smith, the general manager of Advoc.
The private joint stock company also said it is installing a new filling line, its sixth, to lift production capacity by some 50,000 tonnes.
"Our growth has come mainly from within the GCC and has been helped by significant sales through Kuwait to Iraq," he told Gulf News.
The eight-year-old company was set up by prominent individuals including members of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Smith said that to cope with the major surge in sales, the company has installed a new high speed filling line and has undertaken enhancements at its refinery that would allow it to increase filling capacity by at least 50,000 tonnes in the next 12 months.
"Our rationale behind installing the new filling and refining capacity at the plant is to meet the growing demand for our new Coroli brands and packs," he said.
"We are in the process of supplying large orders to all markets in the build up for the Ramadan season and with our new equipment, we are now well-placed to meet incremental business and surges in seasonal demand." The bulk of Advoc's production is exported from its facility at Mina Zayed in the capital.
"About 80 per cent of output is exported, mainly to the GCC," he said.
"At least 15 to 20 per cent of this goes into the Iraqi market through Kuwait. However, we also export to markets such as Yemen, Pakistan, the Levant region and Sudan," Smith added.
The company is considering the option of going public but is waiting for the opportune time.
Advoc is involved in food oil processing, manufacturing and refining of vegetable oil. It is now the owner of the Coroli brand of edible oil in the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) region, following its acquisition of Cebag Middle East.
