MANILA, June 30 (PNA) — The locally listed Calata Corporation and Japanese firm Marubeni Corporation have entered into an agreement to test the latter’s chemical products in the local market.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Monday, Calata said the agreement with Marubeni includes establishing of test farms in the Philippines “to test the viability of Marubeni’s agricultural chemical products” here.
“This partnership is envisioned to draw additional business opportunities that will further increase the company’s continuing business growth as well as its continuous drive to be the country’s leader in the agribusiness industry,” Calata added.
Marubeni’s business includes manufacturing of grains, livestock feeds, livestock, and agro-chemical products.
The Japanese firm also has business in textile, food materials, chemicals, machinery, finance, logistics, real estate, metals, mineral resources and energy resources. It has scoped 120 areas in over 60 countries, from the Americas to Oceania.
Meanwhile, Calata is among the top agricultural companies in the country, specializing in agrochemical brands, feeds, fertilizers, veterinary medicines and seeds in the country.
It has various tie ups with Bayer, Syngenta, BMeg, Jardine, Monsanto, Dupont, Sinochem, Leads Agri, Planters Products, Swire and Yara.
In the first quarter of this year, Calata managed to grow its net income by 31 percent to Php 24.9 million from Q1 2013’s Php 19 million despite its gross revenue went down by 22 percent to Php 383 million from last year’s Php 492 million. (PNA)