EBRD Lends 4.0 Mln Euro to Bosnian Edible Oil Maker Bimal

The EBRD said in a statement it is providing the money to help the company expand its export volumes and to support farmers in the region by boosting purchases of their products.

“Bimal is the only edible oil processor in BiH that has crushing, refining and bottling capacities,” the statement said.

Located on the border with Croatia and close to the sunflower-rich regions of Serbia and Hungary, Bimal has a strong market position in the Western Balkans region, with 60% of its sales revenue coming from exports, the statement added.

Bimal was privatised in 2003 and is owned by Austria’s Seed Oil Holdings.

Last year the EBRD gave Bimal a 6.0 million euro working capital loan, the bank’s first financing for a local agribusiness company.

The new funding will be used to finance the procurement of raw materials, such as seasonal sunflower, rape, soybean seeds and crude oil from local producers in Bosnia, the EBRD said. Bimal will also use the money to buy oilseeds from farmers in Serbia, Croatia and Hungary.

The EBRD said it has invested more than 1.0 billion euro in 77 projects across all sectors in Bosnia since the beginning of its operations there.

($=0.6784 euro)