BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE

INVESTMENT IN GRAIN STORAGE

AGRI-BASED company AFGRI Group Holdings (AGH) said yesterday that it had created a strategic grain storage platform in collaboration with a consortium of institutional investors to increase grain storage capacity in Africa and strengthen food security. Under the agreement, effective March 31, the AFGRI Grain Silo Company will aim to expand its current storage capacity from some 4.7 million tons to six million tons in the near future. “This will allow us to not only cater for grain storage, but to expand into the storage of other types of commodities,” AGH chief executive Chris Venter said in a statement. The 4.7 million ton storage footprint consists of grain silos and bunker complexes throughout the six provinces of South Africa. Three new institutional investors – Stanlib Infrastructure Investments, Wiphold and the Land Bank – have committed to investing in the platform alongside AGH and its black economic empowerment employee partner Izitsalo Employee Investments. The investment consortium will own storage facilities with a total value of R3.6 billion at inception. | African News Agency (ANA)