Riyadh – Mubasher: Russia-based Sistema on Thursday stated that the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) plans to invest in a Russian grain producer which is owned by Sistema and members of Louis Dreyfus family.
“The parties will discuss the structure and parameters of the potential deal after the due diligence of RZ Agro Holding Ltd,” Reuters reported, citing Sistema’s statement as saying.
SALIC was established in 2011 to secure the Saudi Arabian food supplies through mass production and abroad investments.
RZ Agro which a joint venture (JV) between Sistema and Louis-Dreyfus family members, was established in 2012, and it produces grain and owns 106,000 hectare land in the south of Russia.
In 2008, Saudi Arabia started trimming its domestic wheat agriculture programme and planned to rely on imports by 2016 to rationalise water use.
The governor of the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) Ahmad Al-Fares stated on Wednesday that the Kingdoms forecasts that it will reduce its imports of corn to 8 million tonnes in the current marketing season, compared to 9.1 million tonnes of imports in the year-ago period.
