Limoneira Chile, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Californian-based Limoneira Company, has acquired a 35 per cent stake in Chilean citrus packer-marketer Rosales.
Limoneira will earn equity income from its US$1.75m investment, along with US$0.50 per carton on Rosales' lemon sales into Asian markets. The combined returns are expected to net Limoneira between US$200,000 and US$300,000 per year.
Rosales, which primarily packs and sells lemons from its base in La Serena, currently markets its produce in Asia, Europe and Chile.Limoneira will handle all of Rosales' lemon sales to Asia.
“We are excited about our first international business investment,” Limoneira senior vice president Alex Teague said. “Our management team has a long-standing relationship with Rosales, and we look forward to working with them more closely following our investment. Along with expanding our participation in the growing global lemon business, this investment also enables Limoneira to better evaluate future potential investment opportunities in Chile's vast, productive agricultural properties.”
Limoneira is a leading agribusiness, with approximately 10,000 acres of agricultural land, real estate and water rights in California and Arizona. The company recently announced the acquisition of a new packhouse in Yuma, Arizona, and the expansion of its own packing facility in Santa Paula, California.
