SL Agritech investing P200 M for new seed processing plant

Hybrid rice and seed producer SL Agritech Corp. is investing P200 million in a new plant in Davao del Sur to boost its production.

The company is looking to double its farm area planted with hybrid variety to 500,000 hectares for crop year 2016-2017.

SL Agritech chairman and CEO Henry Lim Bon Liong said the company would also expand its existing Davao Oriental plant by an additional 600 to 700 hectares.

The target area expansion will coincide with the expected increase in imports, particularly the Doña Maria rice variety to one container per shipment or around 18-20 metric tons (MT) per day.

SL Agritech currently ships only five to six containers on a monthly basis to countries in Europe, Middle East and the US among others.

Lim said Malaysian and Singaporean private firms have expressed their intention to import SL Agritech’s Doña Maria premium rice.

The expansion is in line with the company’s goal to boost its profitability ahead of its planned initial public offering.

Lim said the company would go public when its market capitalization hits P20 billion.

“Right now, my current estimate is at P12 billion to P15 billion. So, we’ll see,” he added.

Currently, SL Agritech holds 70 percent of the total market share of hybrid variety in the Philippines.

It is one of the large hybrid rice producers in the country. It produces the Dona Maria brand of premium rice in Miponica and Jasponica varieties.

The company has various partnerships for hybrid rice seed production in Asian nations such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Cambodia.