Luanda, Feb. 10, 2026 (Lusa) - A new integrated industrial complex in Angola - dedicated to the refining, processing and packaging of vegetable oils, fats and food ingredients - with a capacity to produce 110,000 tonnes/year, will boost local production and reduce imports, according to the company.
Rafinole - the vegetable oil refinery, which has been operating for four months and is scheduled to be inaugurated at the end of February - has been set up to "boost local production and reduce dependence on imports," said its managing director, José Oliveira, on Tuesday.
Located in the district of Hoji-ya-Henda, in Luanda, the industrial unit, installed in an area of around 50,000 square metres, has been in operation since September 2025 and today received a visit from a group of journalists.
The facility, which has created 400 direct jobs - 95% of which are filled by Angolan workers - has a production capacity of 18,000 tonnes/year of margarine and fat, 7,000 tonnes/year of mayonnaise and sauces, and 110,000 tonnes/year of vegetable oils.
Rafinole's workforce is mostly young and operates on the production, packaging and storage lines, as the journalists observed during a tour of the various sections of the factory led by the company's management.
At least four high-tech production lines make up the industrial complex's workflow, particularly in the edible oil bottling segment: there are two one-litre lines, one five- and three-litre line and another 20-litre line, totalling 12,000 bottles per hour.
The strengths of this industrial unit in the food sector were highlighted by José Oliveira who, without revealing the overall volume of investment, noted that, in addition to the end consumer, the factory also powers other industries in Angola.
"The factory has been in operation since the month of September, and we are currently supplying the domestic market through various distributors. There are also industries that use our products to develop others, such as margarine, biscuits and mayonnaise," he said.
According to the manager, the factory also supplies products to local industry, which previously relied on imports, considering that its operation also boosts the domestic market, with a view to producing the raw material, which is still imported, locally throughout the process.
!In the long term, we plan to start producing the raw material in Angola, but everything depends on the development of the Angolan market and also on agriculture," he said, noting that, in addition to the 400 direct jobs, the plant has also created almost 2,000 indirect jobs.
José Oliveira pointed out that women also have an active presence in the company's management, with a rate of 40%, mainly linked to logistics and finance, and are also present in the production sector, such as Estrela da Silva, who got her first job there.
A mother and housewife, Estrela is a production assistant at Rafinole: "It's my first job in the food industry, it's been very enjoyable, it's a constant challenge (...) and we've been working every day to put oil on the tables of Angolans," she said.
With six dispatch docks (for dispatching finished products by lorry), the production, whose packaging is 100% locally produced, reaches all provinces of the country via the Angolan distribution company, Angolalissar.
Gustavo Domingues, industrial director at Rafinole, assured that all the machines are installed and operate using high technology and that all products are manufactured in accordance with international quality standards and norms.
The factory, whose raw materials, soybeans and palm oil, are mainly imported from Latin America, is currently operating at almost 80% of its capacity.
"Some processes are still under development and we have plans for future expansion," noted the manager.
DAS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
