Potential New Agricultural Investment Hotspot For Middle East Investors

Untapped Caribbean country’s richly fertile soil holds food security and investment opportunities. Well-established export trade and duty laws make it an attractive proposition. Dubai, July 18 th 2013 Given the lack of annual rainfall in the Gulf region, high-scale commercial food production is not viable, hence why Middle East countries continue to safeguard food security and supply issues by investing overseas. Another key indicator is the population boom in the region, meaning local agriculture is unable to meet the consumption demand. For many years Africa and the Philippines’ have been popular destinations for Middle East investment in agriculture. However a new market has emerged to rival these traditionally strong investment partners. Guyana — at the gateway of South America and the Caribbean — shares borders with Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela. A McKinsey study in 2008 revealed the country’s agricultural potential; with aquaculture (the farming of aquatic organisms including fish and crustaceans) valued at US$350-450 million; fruit and vegetables US$ 250-350 million; forestry US$ 200-300 million and bio- ethanol US$ 500-600 million. One of the few non-island Caribbean countries, Guyana already has a well-established export industry. It currently exports to Canada (29% of annual exports); USA (28.6%); nearby Trinidad and Tobago (4.3%), and Jamaica (4.3%), whilst also trading as far afield as the UK and the Netherlands. In fact 75% of Guyana’s exports enter destination markets duty free, making it an attractive trading partner. Guyana has many other advantages. Its highly fertile soils (particularly in coastal areas) offer large development initiatives, whilst an abundance of grass land can be used for producing beef, milk, mutton, fruit and other non-traditional crops. The country has also been certified as foot and mouth disease free — an added advantage in exporting meat products. In addition, its large expanses of land have never been used for modern agriculture and are therefore totally free of agricultural chemicals, meaning it can be certified for organic production in one year – rather than the standard requirement of three years. This has definite economic benefits for the country given organic produce has a premium price in most developed countries. It also emphasises that Guyana offers GCC a serious alternative to consider in addressing potential future food security issues. This alternative has been identified by The Ajeenkya D Y Patil Group, who has exemplary experience in agriculture, as well as education, healthcare and sports. They have signed an MoU with the Government of Guyana for 65,000 hectares of land in Canje Basin to be used for agricultural-related projects, which could include dairy processing; rice milling and processing; fisheries and poultry; fruit and vegetables; and sugar cane production with ethanol and power. Dr Ajeenkya D Y Patil, the Chairman of Ajeenkya D Y Patil Group and Hon Consul General of Guyana in India said “This is a winning proposition with positive advantages for all stakeholders involved. It is a financially viable and potentially profitable proposal for investors in the region due to the global growth in demand for agriculture produce. The region [Guyana] is unexploited and is economically robust and politically stable. It will improve the quality of life of the average Guyanese citizen and increase the economic vitality of the country. And all of this backed by the experienced management of the Ajeenkya DY Patil Group.” The Ajeenkya D Y Patil Group will be presenting this opportunity to potential investors in Dubai this coming November. -Ends- About naseba naseba is a deal facilitator focused on the liquid growth markets. Our markets include: Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt and East Africa), the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iraq and the UAE), India, and Asia Pacific (China, Malaysia and Singapore). We create ‘deal flow’ using platforms including business summits, leadership forums and executive training. For our clients, the deal could be expanding into a new market, vendor sales contracts, sourcing a strategic partner, or executive education. In addition, a separate division provides capital raising, asset sales and joint venture introduction services with investors. Since 2003, we have hosted over 400 initiatives and have relationships with more than 58,000 senior executives, business leaders, entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals and VIPs. We are a French company with on-the-ground presence in Monaco, Riyadh, Dubai, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, and employees from more than 30 nationalities. At naseba, we make it happen. For more information, Aous Jariwa, naseba PR Manager Tel: +971 44 55 7976 Fax: +971 4367 2764 Email: aousj@naseba.com Website: ksa.solarenergyseries.com © Press Release 2013 Taylor Scott International