KTG Agrar acquires another 2,200 hectare farm
“Farmland is a crisis-proof investment“
Hamburg, February 16, 2009 – KTG Agrar AG continues to expand its farmland holdings in 2009. Most recently the company acquired a 2,200 hectare farm which includes 500 hectares of owned land and approximately 1,700 hectares of land farmed under long-term leases in the state of Brandenburg. This means that KTG Agrar today farms more than 27,000 hectares in eastern Germany and Lithuania, which makes it one of Europe’s premier agricultural producers.
Comprising a biogas plant with a rated capacity of 250 kilowatts, the Brandenburg farm is to be swiftly integrated into the KTG Group so that synergies can be realised. All non-farming activities will be handled centrally in the future. Siegfried Hofreiter, the company’s CEO, explains: “Being a farmer myself I know how much time you have to spend off your fields doing administrative chores. We therefore have specialists handling such activities as purchasing, insurance cover, legal affairs and marketing. As a result, our farm managers can devote their full attention to their local farm operations.“
KTG Agrar specialises in growing organic and conventional food crops such as grain, maize and rape. The company can draw on 14 years of experience in efficient and environmentally compatible large-scale farming and has expanded steadily during this period. Its value chain ranges from land purchases to farming to direct crop marketing. KTG Agrar sees attractive growth opportunities even in today’s economic environment. Says Wolfgang Bläsi, the company’s CFO: “Farmland is a crisis-proof investment.” As the world’s population continues to grow, so does global demand for produce and crops, whose supply is limited by the finite availability of farmland. This is why the prices paid per hectare in eastern Germany have remained stable despite the ongoing crisis in the economy.