Opens Second Beef Retail Unit

RNS Number : 6504X

Agriterra Ltd

12 February 2013

 



Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector: Agriculture

12 February 2013

Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or 'the Group')

Second Beef Retail Unit Opened

Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan African agricultural company, is pleased to announce that the Group has opened its second beef retail unit ('the Retail Unit') in Mozambique, as part of the Group's strategy to maximise the margin of its rapidly growing integrated beef business. 

The Retail Unit, located in Tete, is being supplied by carcasses from Agriterra's newly constructed 4,000 head per month capacity abattoir located in Chimoio, which commenced operations December 2012.  The new unit complements Agriterra's first beef retail unit, which opened in Chimoio in December 2012 and continues to perform well.  It is the Group's intention to roll out a further four retail units in 2013.  Cattle for both units are being supplied to the abattoir from the Group's own ranches at Mavonde and Dombe, and the feedlots at Vanduzi, as well as being bought from the local community.      

Euan Kay, Agriterra Executive Director said, "With the roll out of our beef retail units now underway, the margins from our beef operations will improve significantly.  Our ranches continue to grow both in terms of land size and head count, our herd now standing at 5,650 head, and the abattoir at Chimoio is benefiting both our business and the local community.  I look forward to updating the market on further developments as we continue to expand our in-country operations through organic growth and targeted investment."

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For further information please visit www.agriterra-ltd.com or contact:

Andrew Groves	Agriterra Ltd	Tel: [phone]
David Foreman	Seymour Pierce	Tel: [phone]
Rick Thompson	Seymour Pierce	Tel: [phone]
Andy Cuthill	MC Peat & Co LLP	Tel: [phone]
Susie Geliher	St Brides Media & Finance Ltd	Tel: [phone]

Notes

Agriterra Ltd is an AIM listed agricultural company with five divisions: beef, maize, cocoa, fruit and palm oil.  Its cattle ranching business, Mozbife, has a herd in excess of 5,650 head, a land holding of over 21,000 hectares, a feedlot, a 4,000 head per month capacity abattoir and retail units.  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 also owns a proximal banana plantation and macadamia orchard.

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 maize meal, the African staple, and then sell it back to the local market, into supermarkets and to the World Food Programme.

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. 

 

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