Agriterra inks cocoa beans trading agreement

AIM-listed pan-African agricultural company Agriterra said its wholly-owned 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 agreement, Tropical Farms will use its organic certification and buying networks to source and supply up to 500m tonnes of Sierra Leonean cocoa beans in the 2015-2016 buying season.

The offtaker will provide Tropical Farms with pre-financing to cover the purchase of beans.

Adrian Simpson, managing director of Tropical Farms, said: "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."

At 1407 GMT, Agriterra shares were up 24% to 0.65p.