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LONDON (Alliance News) - Africa-focused agriculture company Agriterra Ltd on Wednesday said its Sierra Leone-based Tropical Farms Ltd cocoa business has signed a trading agreement with an unnamed natural, organic and specialty foods company.
Under the terms of the deal, Tropical Farms will use its organic certification and buying networks to source up to 500.0 million tonnes of Sierra Leone cocoa beans in the 2015-16 buying season.
The unnamed offtaker will then provide Tropical Farms with pre-financing to cover the purchase of beans.
"I am pleased to announce this trading agreement, which marks a positive step in the recovery of the cocoa industry in Sierra Leone following the Ebola outbreak in 2014," said Adrian Simpson, managing director of Tropical Farms.
Shares in Agriterra were up 16% on the news to 0.608 pence.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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