TIDMAGTA
RNS Number : 8824D
Agriterra Ltd
23 May 2012
Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector:
Agriculture
23 May 2012
Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or 'the Company')
48 Billion Litre Dam Completed Enabling Rapid Increase in Herd
Size
Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan African agricultural company,
is pleased to announce that Mozbife Limitada, its 100% owned beef
ranching business in Mozambique, continues to make strong progress
as the Company fulfils its strategy of becoming a leading beef
producer in Southern Africa.
-- Further expansion brings total herd size to over 4,000 head -
on target to reach 10,000 head by 2015
-- Construction of 48 billion litre dam completed at Mavonde
Stud Ranch ('Mavonde') - will increase capacity from 1.5 to 7 head
per hectare with irrigation of pastures
-- Additional 350 hectares acquired at Mavonde bringing total
size to 1,350 hectares - acquisition of a further 1,000 hectares
under negotiation
-- 280 additional high quality Beefmaster heifers imported from
South Africa and delivered to Mavonde
-- Intensive buying campaign underway for Dombe Ranch in Tete
and Save areas - acquisition of approximately 100 native cattle per
week to augment cross-breeding programme and rapidly increase total
herd size
-- 900 cattle on site at Vanduzi Feedlot - sales of 200 per
month at an average price of US$1,050 per carcass
-- Chimoio Abattoir construction progressing well - slaughter
line shipped and due by mid-June 2012 and first refrigeration and
panelling delivery by end of May 2012
-- Two butchers shops identified in Chimoio and Tete - equipping
and fitting underway and due to be operational by end of June
2012
Euan Kay, Agriterra Executive Director said, "Our beef
operations continue to expand at an exceptional rate and we are now
approaching the stage where we will benefit from the full uplift in
value for slaughtered and butchered products with the commissioning
of our abattoir and advent of Mozbife butchers shops. Our carcasses
from Vanduzi are already fetching an average of US$1,050 and this
will increase significantly once the abattoir and butcheries come
on stream resulting in higher margins and vastly increased revenue
generation which we will capitalise on in the coming months.
"We continue to develop the infrastructure required to support a
significant breeding herd, and the completion of our 48 billion
litre dam at Mavonde is an important element of this objective. Its
completion will provide irrigation for the 1,250 hectare Mavonde
Ranch, with surplus capacity as the ranch continues to expand. In
addition, to enable an increase in capacity from 1.5 to 7 head per
hectare, the dam will also produce 132kVa which will power the
irrigation pumps which have been purchased and are expected to be
on site by the end of May 2012.
"In addition, as part of the Company's Social Responsibility and
Uplift Programme, 300,000 tilapia fingerlings have been released
into the Mavonde dam reservoir by the Governor of the Manica
Province. Agriterra plans to release a further 1.75 million
fingerlings into the reservoir over the next six months and intend
to establish a fishing co-operative with the local community. The
Company will provide the local community with a small boat and gill
nets and purchase the fish from them for inclusion in animal
feed.
"With these developments in mind, Mozbife continues to grow
rapidly and we remain well on course to achieve our target of a
10,000 head herd by 2015. Together with our two additional
increasing revenue streams from our maize and cocoa operations, we
remain well placed to continue to enhance Agriterra's financial
performance throughout the 2012/2013 financial year and beyond as
we build a significant pan-African agriculture company."
** 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
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 4,000 strong herd, a land
holding of over 16,250 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 2011 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 Tropical Farms Limited, 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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