Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd Market Update (2704K)
April 15 2015 - 4:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMACHL
RNS Number : 2704K
Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd
15 April 2015
For immediate release 15 April 2015
Asian Citrus Holdings Limited
("Asian Citrus" or the "Company")
Market Update
Asian Citrus provides the following update in relation to its
Xinfeng Plantation situated in Jiangxi province, in the People's
Republic of China.
The Company has identified the presence of Huanglongbing
("HLB"), also known as citrus greening disease, which is a
bacterial plant disease not harmful to humans, spread by an insect
called the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect that feeds on the
leaves and stems of citrus trees. Detection of HLB can be
difficult, as symptoms may not show up for more than a year after
the tree has become infected. The first symptoms are yellowed and
mottled leaves, which are often just associated with nutritional
deficiencies. Whilst the spread of the disease in a plantation can
only be limited by the use of pesticides against the insect, the
disease itself, despite current industry know how, is fatal once
the trees are infected. The disease destroys the production,
appearance and economic value of citrus trees. Diseased trees
produce bitter, hard, misshapen fruit and die within a few years of
being infected.
HLB has been recently found in citrus plantations in the USA. In
the Gannan region of the province where the Xinfeng Plantation is
located, plantations in the neighbouring counties have witnessed
infection and management believes that the source of the infection
has come from insect transmission from these nearer regions.
Based on the initial sampling that has been undertaken, which
indicates an infection rate of approximately 18% of the total
population in Xinfeng Plantation, the Board wishes to make clear
that the impact of HLB in Xinfeng Plantation will be significant,
especially with regard to the 2015 winter harvest.
The Company is urgently undertaking further field work and
laboratory testing as part of what will be a comprehensive
investigation into the extent of the infection and what can be done
to prevent the spread of the disease in order to minimise the
losses, including but not limited to replanting. It will take the
Group a period of time to quantify the physical and financial
losses given the 1.6 million orange trees at Xinfeng Plantation,
which is fully planted. The Board will provide a more detailed
update as soon as practicable.
For furtherenquiriespleasecontact:
Asian Citrus +852 2559 0323
MarkNg, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (NOMAD and Broker) +44 (0) 20 7894 7000
Rick Thompson/David Foreman (Corporate Finance)
Richard Redmayne (CorporateBroking)
Weber Shandwick Financial +44 (0) 20 7067 0700
Nick Oborne, Stephanie Badjonat, Tom Jenkins
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCUVSBRVOASARR
Asian Citrus (LSE:ACHL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Asian Citrus (LSE:ACHL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024