Serbia signed a contract for the sale of agricultural company Poljoprivredna Korporacija Beograd (PKB) to UAE-based Al Dahra Agricultural Company.

Al Dahra, a UAE-based international conglomerate, specialising in the agribusiness, has signed an agreement to acquire acquiring the assets of PKB Korporacija and its subsidiaries in Serbia for $172 million, through an asset sale model transaction. The acquisition is being undertaken as a result of Serbia’s objective to privatise PKB Korporacija, and follows a public tender issued in August 2018, reported Emirates news agency Wam. The operations that will be acquired from PKB Korporacija cover several different agricultural and food sector activities. In terms of farming, Al Dahra will manage and cultivate more than 50,000 acres of farmland, which is spread across eight farms, strategically located at close proximity to Belgrade city centre. The different crops that will be produced include sugar beet 491 hectares; sunflower 2,136 hectares; wheat 3,552 hectares; corn 636 hectares; barley 1,454 hectares; soya 2,621 hectares; oilseeds 1,141 hectares; forage 2,322 hectares; silage 2,775 hectares; and a compound of feed and several vegetable varieties. Al Dahra has agreed, as part of the transaction, to invest Euro 30 million over the coming three years to enhance the farms, upgrade the irrigation infrastructure and modernize the dairy operation facilities. However, Al Dahra expects and is willing to invest a further Euro 15 million to optimise the farm and facilities.