Dole Food Co. has agreed to sell 2,000 acres of O'ahu land to an undisclosed buyer for $39 million several months after saying Hawai'i real estate might be part of a strategy to shed nonstrategic or underperforming assets around the world.

California-based Dole, one of the world's largest food producers and the second-largest pineapple producer in the state, said the deal will not affect its local farming of pineapple, coffee and cacao.

The land being sold currently is leased to another company that raises seed corn, according to Dole spokesman Marty Ordman.

Ordman said Dole could not disclose the name of the tenant or whether the seed corn producer is the prospective buyer of the land. The specific location of the property also was not disclosed, though most of Dole's land stretches from Wahiawa to Waialua.

Dole said the sale is expected to close between July and September.

The sale would represent a disposition of less than 1 percent of Dole's 28,000 acres on O'ahu, most of which is pastureland, part of the forestry reserve or leased to others largely for farm use. Dole grows pineapples on 2,700 acres, and coffee and cacao on an additional 195 acres.

Ordman said Dole's farming operations on O'ahu will be continued. "The program's going well," he said. "We're committed to keeping it going."

Dole is the last major pineapple grower on O'ahu. But the company previously has cut back local agricultural operations. As recently as 2001, the company reported farming 8,000 acres on O'ahu in pineapple as well as papaya and cacao, which included about 1,500 acres the company leased.

If Dole's buyer for the 2,000 acres is its seed corn tenant, it would represent another large real estate investment by a growing sector of Hawai'i's agriculture industry.

The value of seed crops — almost exclusively corn — rose 26 percent to a record $97.6 million for the 2006-07 season from the previous season, according to the most recent data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Last year, seed crop producer Monsanto Co. bought 2,300 acres in Kunia from the James Campbell Co. for $31.3 million, according to property records. A Monsanto representative could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPont company, is another major seed corn producer that leases most of its land in Hawai'i. Company spokeswoman Cindy Goldstein declined to say if Pioneer has an agreement with Dole to buy land, but said the company is exploring growth opportunities.

Dole is a diverse food producer with global farming operations. The company is the world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, and also markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods.

But the company, which carries substantial debt and posted a net loss in the last two years, also has been selling land that doesn't meet its future strategic direction or profit goals.

Last year, Dole sold $41.7 million of assets, up from $15 million in 2006. At the end of last year, Dole held $76.2 million in assets for sale — including a fresh-cut flower distribution facility in Florida and more than 4,000 acres in California producing almonds, olives, citrus and grapes. The $39 million O'ahu property is being classified as an asset held for sale in the first quarter 2008.

Dole last year reported a net loss of $58 million on revenue of $6.9 billion, down from a $90 million loss on revenue of $6.2 billion in 2006.

If Dole's O'ahu land sale is completed as expected, the company would still be one of Hawai'i's largest private landowners.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.