BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — Holde Agri Invest has invested 8 million lei ($1.76 million) in a new grain silo with a storage capacity of 10,000 tonnes at the Frumusani farm in Calarasi county in Romania. The addition of the silo brings Holde’s total grain storage capacity to 25,000 tonnes.

Holde said the new silo consists of four cells with a storage capacity of 2,500 tonnes each. The silo was built over an 11-month period and is close to the ports of Constanta and Oltenita. It also is near Holde’s headquarters in Bucharest.

“Holde is at a dynamic stage in its evolution,” said Liviu Zagan, chief executive officer of Holde Agri Invest. “Every year, we target the expansion of the operated farmland and the development of existing farms because agriculture in Romania is at a stage where it requires massive modernization investments. The Frumusani investment represents another goal assumed and accomplished by us. At the same time, we are glad that we completed the works in record time so that we can already store part of the harvest of the current agricultural year in the new silo.

"In the medium and long term, the entire storage project at Frumusani will bring several benefits, such as operational stability in relation to the choice of grain sale period and flexibility in negotiating with grain traders. Also, we expect to amortize quite quickly the financial effort made to build the silo, considering that we will be able to obtain added value from the late or opportunistic sale of goods.”

Holde said the company will continue to invest at the Frumusani farm, with plans to build five new cells of 500 tonnes each, installation of a seed selection and treatment station and storage halls.

Established in 2018, Holde operates total farmland of approximately 13,200 hectares divided into four core farms: Rosiori, about 3,830 hectares; Frumusani, about 3,720 hectares; Videle, about 2,300 hectares; and Contesti, about 3,350 hectares.