Emerald Oil Industries, one of the first to market rice bran oil domestically, plans to export its product to Japan, for which it has established a branch in the island nation last month. 

In a disclosure posted on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday, the rice bran oil producer said it set up a branch in Tokyo on September 20, 2022.

However, stocks of Emerald Oil Industries dropped 0.54 per cent to Tk 36.80 at the DSE.

The branch will be helpful in easily processing the exports, said Managing Director Md Afzal Hossain.

"Even if the quality of our products does not match theirs, we would be able to have modifications there and then sell, so we opened the branch," he said.

At present, buyers demanded 3,000 tonnes of oil. However, it has the capacity to export a maximum of 500 tonnes to 700 tonnes, he said.

There is a demand for 6,000 tonnes of rice bran oil per month in Japan, he said in response to a question.

Established in 2008, Emerald Oil Industries launched its rice bran oil brand "Spondon" in 2011.

It raised Tk 20 crore from the public to pay off loans and meet working capital needs in 2014. It went out of production in 2017 leaving general investors with shares.

Since then, Emerald Oil Industries has not given any dividend so the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) recast the board last year.

In the meantime, Minori Bangladesh, a subsidiary of Japanese farming company Minori Co, invested in Emerald Oil industries availing a 30 per cent stake.

In its full-fledged commercial operation, the company can produce 48 tonnes of rice bran oil and 282 tonnes of de-oiled rice bran annually.