MUMBAI-BASED Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is all set to acquire 15,000 acres in Paraguay to grow sunflower and soybean. The company also plans to set up a crushing unit for sunflower and soybean seeds there and may start exports from Paraguay itself. The land will be acquired at $2,000-3,000 per hectare. Genaro Vicente Pappalarado, Paraguay’s ambassador in India, who was in Chandigarh recently, confirmed this to ET. “We are willing to have investors in the farming sector from this very region. Talks with Solvent Extractors’ Association of India are in the final stages. The association will be acquiring 12,000-15,000 acres of land at $2000-3000 per hectare very soon,” he said. The ambassador was part of a Paraguayan delegation that was visiting the city to understand Indian agri business. The offer for the land has come from the single party/corporate. “We are working on the possibilities and have formed a three-member team comprising an agronomist, a financial expert and a businessman. This is an outcome of our last annual general meeting held in Goa. If all goes well, we would like to have the crushing facility in Paraguay, after which we may start exports from there,” said Ashok Setia, president, Solvent Extractors Association of India. On September 21, Paraguay Oilseeds Crushers’ Association (CAPPRO) had signed an agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry to strengthen trade and investment relations between India and Paraguay, especially in the field of agri business. The agreement is important with soya oil gaining importance in trade with Latin America and Caribbean. The Solvent Extractors’ Association had visited Paraguay in June this year to evaluate the possibilities. Its looking for support from the Indian government for this deal