Update on Cocoa Operations in Sierra Leone (0347Y)
February 24 2012 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAGTA
RNS Number : 0347Y
Agriterra Ltd
24 February 2012
Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector:
Agriculture
24 February 2012
Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or 'the Company')
Update on Cocoa Operations in Sierra Leone
Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan African agricultural company,
announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tropical Farms Ltd
('TFL'), has been granted a 50 year lease, with an option to renew
at the end of the term, over five acres of land in Kenema, Sierra
Leone, on which it plans to build a new 2,000m(2) processing and
management facility. This is part of its strategy to become a
leading buyer, trader and producer of high quality, sustainable and
traceable cocoa in Sierra Leone.
The five acre site is adjacent to a new dual carriageway, which
is the main artery to the cocoa growing regions and is anticipated
to be extended and connect to the Guinean border. The planned
2,000m(2) facility will dry and process cocoa beans ready for TFL
to export. It will also house administrative and buying offices as
well as vehicle maintenance facilities. The facility will be
constructed and equipment and processes installed will be of
international standard as part of TFL's expansion of its collateral
management programme from Freetown to upcountry Sierra Leone.
Andrew Groves, Agriterra CEO said, "Acquiring this strategic
land position, ahead of building a new processing facility,
advances our strategy to establish an end-to-end logistics chain
for export and become one of the leading traders of sustainable and
traceable cocoa in Sierra Leone by the end of 2012. We also hope to
build a much larger state-of-the-art collateral management facility
in Freetown to serve as the main hub within Sierra Leone, providing
access to the international markets for all of the commodities that
TFL is involved; in this respect, we are progressing negotiations
to secure a 15-acre site in the New Airport Development Zone.
"Our efforts to build relationships with farmers across the
country and increase our buying network are also progressing
encouragingly. This is the backbone to the business so we are
delighted to now be working with over 3,500 farmers and to be
building our network of buying points with a target of achieving 40
buying points by the end of the year. Additionally, we continue to
assess our options to expand our commodity reach to include coffee
and palm oil.
"We remain highly confident about the future of TFL,
particularly in light of the highly attractive economic
fundamentals of the cocoa market, and believe that we are ideally
positioned to build on our standing as a leading trader of high
quality sustainable and traceable cocoa."
** ENDS **
For further information please visit www.agriterra-ltd.com or
contact:
Andrew Groves Agriterra Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408
9200
Jonathan Wright Seymour Pierce Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107
8000
David Foreman Seymour Pierce Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107
8000
Andy Cuthill MC Peat & Co LLP Tel: +44 (0) 20 7104
2332
Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236
Ltd 1177
Susie Geliher St Brides Media & Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236
Ltd 1177
Notes
Agriterra Ltd is an AIM listed agricultural company with four
divisions: beef, maize, cocoa and palm oil. Its cattle ranching
business, Mozbife, currently has a 2,350 strong herd, a land
holding of over 16,000 hectares, a feedlot and a 4,000 head per
month abattoir which is under construction. In addition to selling
meat from its own herds, throughput for the feedlot and abattoir
will be supplemented using cattle bought in from local
communities.
The Company's maize buying and milling operations, DECA and
Compagri, are located in Chimoio and Tete in central and
north-western Mozambique respectively. These collect maize from
circa 350,000 farmers using the Company's own vehicle fleet,
process it into mealie meal, the African staple, and then sell it
back to the local market, into supermarkets and to the World Food
Programme. Combined sales for the year ended 31 May totalled 28,822
tonnes maize meal generating revenue of US$13.6 million.
Agriterra's cocoa business is based in Sierra Leone, through its
100% subsidiary TFL, which is currently a buying and trading
operation, but provides an ideal conduit to branch out into cocoa
production in West Africa. Its strategy is to establish itself as a
secure, sustainable and traceable source of supply to meet the
requirements of the major cocoa consumers who are placing increased
emphasis in this area.
The Company has expanded its portfolio of agricultural products
through the addition of palm oil, and holds a lease over
approximately 45,000 hectares of brownfield agricultural land in an
area suitable for palm oil production in the Pujehun District in
the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. This area of Sierra Leone,
which is close to the Liberian border, receives one the highest
levels of rainfall in Sierra Leone, which in itself, receives some
of the highest rainfall globally. In addition, the lease area is
located on the equatorial belt, which is the most favourable
geographical location for palm oil production.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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