Hassad Food scouts for acquisitions

QUATAR'S Hassad Food will consider taking stakes in agricultural companies in South America with an eye to profitability as well as food security, the company's chairman said. Nasser Mohamed Al Hajri told Reuters that Hassad Food is looking for company acquisitions rather than land purchases. "We are not deleting the option of buying farmland but we don't feel like it is the right strategy to take," he said. Hassad Food, established last year by the Qatari Investment Authority, will invest in existing agricultural businesses and projects around the world and re-export the produce where needed. "We are driven by profits and not just food security and right now the economic crisis has created a lot of opportunities for us to invest in financially distressed companies," Hajri added. The company is in talks with a number of agricultural companies in Argentina and elsewhere in South America to buy stakes in their businesses, said Hajri.Air Zoom Vomero 13