Edible Oil Production

Panoramic view at the sunflower field in Tanzania near Ikungi

Photo by Shutterstock

Edible Oil Production
SectorMost major industry classification systems use sources of revenue as their basis for classifying companies into specific sectors, subsectors and industries. In order to group like companies based on their sustainability-related risks and opportunities, SASB created the Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®) and the classification of sectors, subsectors and industries in the SDG Investor Platform is based on SICS.
Food and Beverage
Food and Agriculture
Business Model Description

Provide and operate machinery and technology for the commercial processing of high value field crops, such as marula, sunflower, avocado and palm, into refined and double refined edible oil for local consumption and export through a public-private partnership model. The public sector allocates suitable land for installation of processing facilities together with relevant infrastructure, such as roads, power and water utilities, and requisite incentive package structure to encourage local value addition.

Expected Impact

Optimize domestic crop utilization, foster local value addition and advance import substitution.

Indicative ReturnDescribes the rate of growth an investment is expected to generate within the IOA. The indicative return is identified for the IOA by establishing its Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Return of Investment (ROI) or Gross Profit Margin (GPM).
> 25% (in IRR)
Investment TimeframeDescribes the time period in which the IOA will pay-back the invested resources. The estimate is based on asset expected lifetime as the IOA will start generating accumulated positive cash-flows.
Short Term (0–5 years)
Market SizeDescribes the value of potential addressable market of the IOA. The market size is identified for the IOA by establishing the value in USD, identifying the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) or providing a numeric unit critical to the IOA.
USD 100 million - USD 1 billion
Average Ticket Size (USD)Describes the USD amount for a typical investment required in the IOA.
< USD 500,000
Direct ImpactDescribes the primary SDG(s) the IOA addresses.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
Indirect ImpactDescribes the secondary SDG(s) the IOA addresses.
Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)
YES Group photo
Photo by YES Group
Case Study: YES Group empowers smallholder farmers in the edible oil value chain
The YES Group, a GSIV Tanzania finalist, aims to empower rural smallholder farmers in the production, value addition and marketing of their agricultural products. Since its founding in 2012, the YES Group has provided goods and services to actors along the edible oil value chain, helping to expand the industry, supporting smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and protecting the environment. The group provides training to rural communities, especially youth and women, to improve the productivity and quality of their organic production, and offers oil seed pressing services to expand edible oil production.
Sector Sources
  • 1) East African Community Secretariat, 2021. Fruits and Vegetable Strategy and Action Plan, 2021-2031. https://www.eacgermany.org. 2) World Bank Group, 2019. Transforming Agriculture, Realizing the Potential of Agriculture for Inclusive Growth and Poverty Reduction. 3) United Republic of Tanzania, 2020. Agricultural Sector Development Plan 2 (ASDP-2). https://asdp.kilimo.go.tz. 4) United Republic of Tanzania, 2021. Third National Five-Year Plan (FYDP 3). 5) MDPI Sustainability, 2019. Reducing Edible Oil Import Dependency in Tanzania: A Computable General Equilibrium CGE Approach. www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability. 6) Tanzania Investment Centre, 2017. https://www.tic.go.tz. 7) International Trade Centre, 2019. Value Chain Analysis for Avocado Sub-Sector in Tanzania. 8) Kombe, et al. 2017. The Potentiality of Sunflower Sub-Sector in Tanzania; Bank of Tanzania Working Paper, Volume 10. 9) United States Agency for International Development, 2017. Feasibility Study for the Edible Oils Sector in Tanzania. 10) World Bank, 2013. Gender and Economic Growth in Tanzania. 11) United Nations Development Programme, 2018. Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS).
IOA Sources
  • 12) JADIAN Company Ltd, 2021. Feasibility Study for Establishment of Marula Oil Processing Industry at Doma Village, Mvomero District. 13) METL, 2022. East Coast Oils Fats. https://www.metl.net/en/oils-soaps/east-coast-oils-fats. 14) United Republic of Tanzania, 2016. Sunflower Sector Development Strategy. https://www.mit.go.tz/uploads/files/Tanzania%20Sunflower%20Strategy.pdf. 15) UNIDO, 2022. https://www.unido.org/news/tanzanias-sunflower-oil-producers-come-bloom. 16) Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Corporation Co., Ltd., 2019. Feasibility Study for Power for Food (P4F) Project: Development of Agro-Processing Zones equipped with Solar Power Generation and Battery Systems in the Republic of Tanzania. 17) International Trade Centre, MARKUP Programme 2019: Value Chain Analysis for Processed Avocado in Tanzania. 18) International Trade Centre, 2022. TradeMap data. https://www.trademap.org/Index.aspx. 19) United Republic of Tanzania, 2013. The National Industrial Survey Report. 20) International Labour Organisations (ILO), 2014. Women’s Entrepreneurship Development. 21) Wangwe et al, 2016. Industrial Development in Tanzania. 22) STATISTA, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics. 23) Mgeni, et al, 2019. Reducing Edible Oil Import Dependency in Tanzania, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4480/pdf. 24) United Nations Children and Education Fund, 2018. Tanzania National Nutrition Survey. 25) United Republic of Tanzania, Vision 2025. http://www.tzonline.org/pdf/theTanzaniadevelopmentvision.pdf. 26) National Parliament of Tanzania, 2020. 27) Government of Tanzania, 1999. Plant Protection Act. 28) Government of Tanzania, 2009. Crops Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act. 29) EEAS, 2022. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations. 30) United Republic of Tanzania, 2022. Standard Incentives for Investors. https://investment-guide.eac.int. 31) EEAS, 2022. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations. 32) SHU, 2022. https://www2.shu.ac.uk/PDAN/tanzanian_food_security_and_health.html. 33) Trademap, 2018. https://www.trademap.org/Index.aspx. 34) Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2019. Cost-effectiveness of sunflower oil fortification with vitamin A in Tanzania by scale. 35) Asoko Insights, 2020. Tanzania's Edible Oil Industry. https://www.asokoinsight.com. 36) United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, 2020. Action Plan for Palm Oil Development in Tanzania. https://www.unido.org. 37) Seed Change, 2018. Palm Oil and The Kigoma Region of Tanzania Value Chain Analysis Report.