Calata inks supply deal with Argentinian firm

Listed firm Calata Corp. said it had signed an exclusive 20-year contract with Siembra Directa Corp. for the supply of agricultural inputs for the latter’s farm operations in the Philippines.

Calata Corp. chair and CEO Joseph Calata said the deal was worth about P1.6 billion.

Siembra is an agricultural technology company registered in the Philippines and affiliated with Argentinian firms JM and Fimaco.

The company said its partnership with Siembra would help “promote and advance the use of environmentally-responsible and state-of-the-art farming technologies in the country.” Siembra is known worldwide for its promotion of the Argentinian farming method using “automated planting, fumigation and harvesting techniques.” It also uses modern post-harvest facilities, it added.

Calata also said that the “entry of Siembra to the Philippine agriculture industry underscores the vast potential of the food production sector in attracting international investments.”

Calata Corp. recently disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it had generated gross sales of P2.07 billion in the first nine months of 2012, almost double its sales of P1.2 billion a year ago.

Calata Corp. also registered gross profits of P217 million as of the end of the third quarter, nearly 100 percent more than the P153 million generated during the first nine months of 2011.