AgriNurture plans expansion of hybrid rice, vegetable production

Listed food producer AgriNurture Inc.(ANI) is planning the expansion of its production areas for hybrid rice, fruit and vegetables with Chinese partner Beidahuang Seed Group of China.

In 2010, ANI and Beidahuang formed Beidahuang Philippines, which produces high-yielding hybrid rice seeds.

According to ANI president and CEO Antonio Tiu, Beidahuang is interested in "further investing" in other crops and in cold chain storage systems. Over the weekend, Beidahuang officials visited Agrinurture's juice manufacturing plant in Pulilan, Bulacan; its rice mill in Arayat, Pampanga; and its demonstration farm in Dau, Pampanga.

In 2011, ANI announced that it was allotting an initial P100 million to P200 million to begin hybrid rice production on 2,000 hectares in Central Luzon, to be expanded eventually to 10,000 hectares over the next three years.

The company recently bought a 1000-hectare banana plantation in Mindanao for P1 billion to raise its output for the export market.

Last week, the company announced that it is set to expand its banana plantation in Kalimantan, Indonesia by 3,000 hectares as part of its preparations for the integration of the ASEAN into a single market in 2015. — BM, GMA News