Star Agritech International (SAI) has expressed interest in the potential privatization of Agroduhan Slatina in Croatia.
In a letter to the country’s Restructuring and Sales Center, SAI proposes to expand the volume and varieties of tobacco grown in Croatia, reactivate the reconstituted tobacco plant in Agroduhan and base the headquarters of its European operations in Croatia by moving its current operations from Belgium to Agroduhan.
As part of its financial consideration, SAI said it would assume responsibility for the private sector bank loans that Agroduhan has contracted with Post bank of Croatia.
“Using our rich experience in the tobacco industry, with the aim of growing the business using new technologies, we believe this investment would yield positive benefits,” SAI wrote in its letter.
“With this proposal, we intend to achieve leaf production of at least 3 million kilos minimum per annum in Croatia. This program will increase the number of employees required at the Agroduhan factory as well as at the farm level.”
In addition to creating employment, the proposal would increase economic activity and generate substantial export revenues from the sale of larger quantities of tobacco and recon, according to SAI.
SAI was established by the Lambat family in 2008 with the mission of providing full tobacco raw materials supply to privately owned tobacco product manufacturers as well as government tobacco monopolies. The company now operates in more than 40 countries. The firm also owns and operates two recon factories—a slurry type recon factory in Indonesia and a nano fiber recon factory in Brazil.
In addition, SAI has started investment programs for a CRES factory in Cambodia and a second one in Indonesia.