Agro, Inc. was already present in many of Liberia's growing regions trading in other products when food security became of increasing concern. Due to this, we were quickly able to transfer procurement skills and systems from other businesses to start sourcing food products for the domestic and regional markets and at the same time transfer these skills and systems across borders to other growing regions. Today, Agro enjoys a clear advantage in terms of procurement reach, in each of the origins where we operate.

Over the last few years, we have started to aggressively pursue growth in plantain supply for the domestic market and pineapple for export. We anticipate entry into the spices business - pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmegs - in the near term.

Our growth in the domestic plantain business has been the result of growth through adjacencies. Since beginning in 2005, Agro has emerged as a dominant advocate for intercropping plantain with immature rubber and oil palm crops to boost the incomes of rural farmers. This has allowed small-holders in our outgrower programs the opportunity to maximize land use, combat food insecurity, and boost farm income.

Agro's pineapple business was given a big thrust with the commencement of our direct sourcing operations out of C�toe d'Ivoire. This has not only enabled larger participation in the trade flows, but also increased value appropriation. We continue to build strategic alliances in this area to ensure cost competitive supplies and value enhancement for our goods.