04/27/2015 09h41

Investe São Paulo supports the implementation of Castrolanda’s seed processing plant in Itaberá

Project involves an investment of R$ 29 million and is part of the company’s strategy to expand its presence in São Paulo

Investe São Paulo

Investe São Paulo, the investment promotion agency of São Paulo State Government, has been assisting Castrolanda in the construction of a seed processing plant in Itaberá, a city located on the border with Paraná. Approximately R$ 29 million was invested in the implementation project of the plant, which will employ 25 people.

The agency, which is associated with the Department of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation, has been providing support to the cooperative, especially in terms of environmental licensing and infrastructure.

“Castrolanda’s investment shows the confidence of Brazilian entrepreneurs in the agribusiness in São Paulo. The state is home to companies from various industrial segments of the food industry and the largest consumer market in Latin America,” said the president of Investe SP, Juan Quirós.

The plant will cover approximately 4,000 square meters, located on an area covering 48,400 square meters. It will produce soybean, wheat, beans and forage seeds of high physiological and physical quality to supply the markets in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul. The production will also supply the north and west of Paraná.

This is Castrolanda’s second project assisted by the agency. In 2013, the company joined the cooperatives Batavo and Capal to build a dairy processing plant in Itapetininga, with an investment of R$ 145 million.

“With this investment, we expect to consolidate Castrolanda’s strategic position in agriculture in São Paulo, disseminating the cooperative spirit and bringing solutions in terms of inputs, information and technology to the modern, productive and sustainable agriculture,” said Márcio Copacheski, manager of the Agricultural Business Unit of the cooperative.

In Itaberá, there is already a unit for receiving grains. Thus, the processing unit will be located within the existing plant, optimizing operating costs. According to company executives, in comparison with Paraná, the warmer weather of São Paulo, which offers the possibility of alternative crop has influenced the decision for the investment.

In addition, the growth of the technologies embedded in the seeds through biotechnology by several multinational companies has been bringing increments to the productivity in the main crops in Brazil.