Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP), the company involved in growing and processing crude palm into oil products for domestic consumption, posted a stellar performance in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, doubling profits achieved in 2019.

The company delivered profit after tax of GH¢20.69 million compared with GH¢9.65m the previous year, representing an improvement of 156 percent.

It said the performance was largely as a result of stable oil palm production amidst relatively higher palm oil prices on the international market.

“The level of profitability was impacted by the 19 percent growth in the trading prices of crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil notwithstanding the 5 percent decline in crop production. There was however improvement in operating efficiencies to tame the cost of business amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said in its 2020 annual report to investors.

In 2020, the world market price of crude palm oil (CPO) increased from an average of US$574 in 2019 to US$683, representing a 19 percent growth in dollar terms, while the price of palm kernel oil (PKO) surged from an average of US$655 in 2019 to US$782, also representing 19 percent growth.

Despite the uncertainties in the business operating environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, BOPP said that prices are expected to remain fairly stable on the global market. It added that given the good rainfall in 2020 and best agronomic practices in place, the business will continue to post reasonable results.