Dublin, Ireland
November 17th, 2008

South Cone Agriculture, PLC (SCA), an Irish developer of industrial oilseeds officially initiated its activities in Brazil with a castor plantation in the State of Bahia, located in the country's Northeastern region.

With an initial plantation of 550 hectares (1400 acres) SCA will reach 1020 hectares by the end of 2009 and plans to harvest 26,000 hectares in 2013.

The company's operation plan was unveiled today by South Cone's Chairman Ian Cavanaugh. "Castor has been around for many years and is a real "crop of the future" for its many uses in renewable plastics and chemicals", he said.

Every year, 500,000 to 700,000 metric tons of castor oil are traded internationally. India is the leading supplier with more than 65% of market share. China and Brazil follow. Brazil used to be the world's main supplier until the early 80's but lost ground to Indian producers.

Castor is traditionally cultivated in small family owned farms and has recently attracted attention of well-funded groups interested in developing large scale plantations.

Website: http://www.southconeagri.com

Published: November 1, 2008