A New Zealand real estate agent is conducting an international tender process for the sale of one of the country’s largest privately-owned kiwifruit portfolios.
Three separate Te Puke orchards (Te Matai, Pacific Gold and Coachman) make up the portfolio, which together comprises some 98 canopy hectares.
The orchards produce both the Gold3 (SunGold) and Hayward kiwifruit varieties in roughly equal percentages of canopy, with the combined yield across the three sites expected to reach 1.3m trays per annum once all in mature production.
“The economy of scale delivered by purchasing this collection of orchards, which are all in close proximity to each other, allows for any new owner to maintain the corporate approach to crop management and production,” said Mike Bayley of Bayleys Real Estate, which is marketing the portfolio.
“Kiwifruit sector and horticultural investor interest in the early phase of marketing has been unprecedented,” he added.
The three orchards are all contracted to supply harvested fruit to single-desk export marketer Zespri.
The move to market the property to overseas buyers is likely to draw the attention of the newly-elected New Zealand government, which has signalled its intention to restrict foreign investment. This has included a directive to the Overseas Investment Office to reduce the size of farms covered under current foreign investment regulations, according to BusinessDesk.
