Metro Pacific sets aside P8B to boost agri business

Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is setting aside around P8 billion this year to expand its agriculture business.

"For this year alone, our budget is close to about P8 billion on agriculture," MPIC chief finance officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"The projects and programs we will go into will depend on the partnership with the LR Group," she added. 

In December last year, MPIC’s Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV) inked an investment deal with Israel-based financing firm LR Group Ltd. to form a 60-40 joint venture, Metro Pacific Dairy Farms (MPDF), an integrated dairy facility that will have a target production capacity of 6.5 million liters of raw fresh milk per year.

The MPDF facility aims to increase the country’s fresh milk yield from eight to 10 liters a day to 30 liters per day.

MPAV also partnered with LR Group to build the Vegetable Greenhouse Project, a 22-hectare property housing a complex of modern greenhouses in San Rafael, Bulacan.

MPIC’s agribusiness arm is also acquiring a 34.76% stake in agri-products manufacturer, exporter, and retailer Axelum Resources Corp.

In June 2022, MPIC announced its foray into agribusiness through the acquisition of a majority stake in the Carmen’s Best Group, known for its ice cream products. —VBL, GMA Integrated News