31 May 2010 --- New Britain Palm Oil Limited, one of the world's largest producers of sustainable palm oil, announces that the commissioning work that began in May on its UK palm oil refinery in Liverpool is now effectively complete. Deliveries to customers of segregated, traceable and certified sustainable palm oil have now commenced.
 
The refinery has a dedicated supply source from NBPOL's Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certified sustainable plantations and so the palm oil is fully segregated and traceable from seed to finished product.
 
The Merseyside refinery has a production capacity of approximately 150,000-170,000 tonnes of refined certified sustainable palm oil per annum, which can be easily doubled to meet increasing demand on the same site whilst still leaving scope for further enlargement and development for downstream palm oil products.
 
Nick Thompson, Chief Executive of New Britain Palm Oil Limited, said:
 
"Our research tells us that over 80% of consumers want food manufacturers and retailers to know where their palm oil has come from and that it was produced sustainably and not just through a certificate offset scheme.
 
The UK's annual palm oil demand for the food and personal care market is estimated to be approximately 500,000 tonnes with Western Europe's standing at approximately 4-5 million tonnes annually.  The Company (including the assets of CTP (PNG)) produced approximately 520,000 tonnes of palm oil product in the last year. We have invested in this refinery to address a clear market demand in the UK and Europe for sustainable, traceable palm oil.
 
The establishment of NBPOL's refinery in Liverpool is we believe, the first dedicated to segregated, traceable, certified sustainable palm oil. The board of New Britain is very pleased with progress at the refinery and the Company is currently in discussions with many well known manufacturers and we look forward to updating on progress in due course."