Haiti Will Soon be Amongst the Palm Oil Producing Countries

Located at the optimum geographic latitude for palm oil production, 18 degrees, Haiti will soon join Malaysia, Indonesia, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic as a palm oil producing country. Two firms – the Society of the Development of Oil Products SA (SODEPOL) and Haiti Palm Oil SA (HUPHASA) have signed an agreement to jointly establish a vertically integrated palm oil operation in the country.

Over the next five years, the joint venture will invest $50 million to plant 139,000 oil palm trees on 4,000 hectares in Haiti’s Central Plateau, and establish a crude oil extraction operation. SODEPOL will be responsible for the development of the plantations, and HUPHASA will oversee the development of the extraction plant, which will have the capacity to produce 15 tons of crude oil per hour. Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development will provide credit, tools, seeds, and services to local farmers to help them increase production.

Haiti’s Agriculture Ministry will immediately make available 25 hectares for the preparation of nursery space to begin propagation. Through the planting of 4,000 hectares, the project is expected to alleviate the country’s deforestation problem by 25%.

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