Brazilian fresh produce company Agrícola Famosa plans to start an experimental melon plantation in Senegal in December, website Opovo.com.br reported.

The company said the plantation would span 100 hectares in the African country, with the same varieties it produces in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Ceará, the story reported.

Director Luiz Roberto Barcelos told the website the crop planting area in Ceará would increase by a third, from 4,500 hectares to 6,000 hectares.

"We are leasing the Del Monte melon farm which was halted since last year. This means a resumption of economic activity in the regions of Quixeré and Limoeiro do Norte," Barcelos was quoted as saying.

The company has also bought a farm in the interior of Pernambuco to produce melons during the rainy season of the Ceará-Rio Grande do Norte axis.

www.freshfruitportal.com