Top International Holding Pte Ltd has taken a big step forward in diversifying its business ventures, expanding from bauxite mining to farming. The company, whose main business is in bauxite mining and trading, made a bold decision to cross over into agriculture when chief executive officer Victor Tan saw an opportunity in Guinea that no one else had.
Guinea, located in West Africa , has a climate that is much like Singapore's, with its fair share of wet and dry seasons. However, unlike land-scarce Singapore, Guinea has an abundance of fertile lands.
Mr Tan said on the move into agriculture: "I feel that agriculture is something that is not subjected to economic fluctuations; it's something that would be there forever."
Beginning in 2017, the team spent three years doing market sensing in Guinea, where the company extracts its bauxite, to decide on the ideal crop to grow. They settled on pineapples for the fruit's versatility . In 2020, the company took a big step forward. It acquired a 35-hectare piece of land, and began planting its very first batch of pineapples.
Businesstimes.com.sg reports that, though the project has only just begun, Tan believes they are on the right track. The group will soon be expecting its very first harvest, where it will then decide to move on to the next phase of expansion, or not.
