AUSTRALIAN Oilseed Investments, the company behind Cootamundra Oilseeds and the proposed Central Queensland crushing project, commenced trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday.

The milestone comes as the company finalised a merger deal with publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company, EDOC Acquisition Corporation, worth $190 million.

Based at Cootamundra on the south-west slopes of New South Wales, the company is promoting itself as the largest producer of non-chemical, non-GMO cold-processed vegetable oil in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australian Oilseeds’ ordinary shares are being traded under the ticker symbol “COOT”.

The company had a volatile first day on the Nasdaq, which required the leadership to halt trading four times within the first hour of the stock exchange opening.

A halt on trading a stock is typically used if a holding is particularly volatile, for legal reasons or if the company plans to release major news.

At the commencement of trading, Australian Oilseeds stocks traded at $3.20 and dipped to a low of $2.05, before closing at $2.48.

As part of the listing debut, Australian Oilseeds chief executive officer Gary Seaton will ring the Nasdaq closing bell on March 28.

“This is an incredible milestone for the entire Australian Oilseeds team,” Mr Seaton said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to list Australian Oilseeds on the Nasdaq, particularly at this moment of burgeoning consumer demand for organic food ingredients globally.”

“With global demand for healthier, natural and chemical-free food products, coupled with growing food shortages, we plan to capitalize on this increased global demand for sustainable premium cold-pressed and non-GMO products.”

Mr Seaton said the listing will further open the company up to global investment.

“[I]nvestors will have the opportunity to invest in Australian Oilseeds’ growth and mission to become a global leader in our market of providing chemical free non-GMO feed ingredients into the food supply chain as we continue to provide a healthier option for all consumers on a larger scale.”

EDOC chief executive officer Kevin Chen said Australian Oilseeds was well placed to fulfil increasing consumer demand for sustainable oils.

“As we noted when the transaction was announced, Australian Oilseeds not only produces high-demand materials in a growing market, but also does so in a sustainable manner,” Mr Chen said in a statement.

“We are excited that Australian Oilseeds and its team have reached this stage and believe they are ready to accelerate their market position as a public company.”

Mr Seaton said the listing comes as the company is progressing plans to significantly increase processing capacity.

He said included “the recent expansion of our existing cold-pressing capacity from 40,000 tonnes to 80,000t per annum and our current construction of a multi-seed crushing plant at Emerald, Queensland with a projected cold-pressing capacity of 80,000t per annum”.

Grain Central understands construction of the CQ oilseed crushing plant is yet to commence.

Australian Oilseeds produces cold pressed organic food-grade oils and vegetable protein meals from canola, sunflower, soybean, safflower, linseed and olive crops at its Cootamundra site.

The company supplies all of Good Earth Oils’ branded edible oils, and has bulk contracts with customers including Riverina Oils & Bio Energy and Energreen.

Costco Australia is also a major distributor for AOI products.

EDOC Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company, sponsored by a network of physician entrepreneurs across over 30 medical specialties in leading medical institutions.

Grain Central understands construction of the CQ oilseed crushing plant is yet to commence.