Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), controlled by Kuramo Capital Management with an approximately 76% stake since 2021, plans to build a palm oil refinery.
In an interview with Forbes Afrique magazine published in April 2026, Managing Director Monique Gieskes said the facility is expected to come online within the next two years, pointing to a completion date around 2028.
According to the executive, the project is part of a broader vertical integration strategy. PHC has mainly produced crude palm oil and palm kernel oil, which it sells to refiners in Kinshasa and Kongo Central. The company now plans to refine part of its output while continuing to supply its existing customers with crude oil. This move would allow PHC to capture more value in the domestic market. The planned refinery’s capacity has not been disclosed.
The integration strategy will require higher output. However, data shared by Gieskes indicates stagnation over the past two years. After reaching 80,000 tons in 2023, production is expected to reach 81,000 tons in 2025. PHC nonetheless maintains its target of 100,000 tons by 2026.
The company operates three industrial sites in Boteka (Equateur), Yaligimba (Mongala), and Lokutu (Tshopo). According to management, its concessions span around 106,000 hectares, including 30,000 hectares planted with oil palms. The remaining land offers room for expansion.
PHC also points to genetic research conducted at its CREATY center in Yaligimba. Gieskes referred to experimental seeds described as “albino”, with low beta-carotene content, which could produce a lighter oil directly upon extraction. Management presents this as a promising avenue, though it has not yet been independently validated in publicly available research.
These ambitions come against the backdrop of a structurally undersupplied Congolese market. According to estimates from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), national palm oil production stands at around 300,000 tons per year, while demand exceeds 500,000 tons.
Timothée Manoke
