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•           28,000 acres to be developed
•           Production of extra virgin olive oil is stated goal

Some 28,000 acres of land in western Fresno County and southeastern San Benito County would be developed with massive plantings of olive trees under a joint venture announced by Yasheng ECO-Trade Corporation, Yasheng Group, an agriculture conglomerate, and Pfau, Pfau & Pfau LLC. The development plan for the 28,000 acres is to plant and harvest olive trees on approximately 12,000 acres, says Yasheng. After harvesting, the company plans to mill and produce California extra virgin olive oil.

In addition to the olive production, the land currently has one producing oil well with plans to drill nine more wells. The company says it is discussing the possibility of developing the remaining land (roughly 15,000 acres) into ranch properties. Current zoning allows for subdivision down to 40-acre parcels. A second property is approximately 45 acres in Kona, Hawaii. The planned development for this property is a coffee plantation. The third property is approximately 500 acres in San Marcos, where the planned development is for approximately 750 single-family homes and approximately 1.5 million square feet of commercial mixed-use space. “We believe this proposed joint venture could potentially provide the company with the ability to enter the agriculture market in the United States leveraging the expertise of the Yasheng Group,” says Gregory Rubin, chairman of Yasheng ECO-Trade Corporation, which is based in Beverly Hills.

The closing of the joint venture will require the completion of definitive documentation, completion of due diligence, obtaining corporate approval of all parties and obtaining approval of the bankruptcy court, as Pfau has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, says Yasheng. Yasheng ECO-Trade Corporation’s business is the identification and acquisition of undervalued assets within emerging industries for the purpose of consolidation and development of these businesses and sale if favorable market conditions exist.

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=12869