Limoneira has boosted its counterseasonal lemon supply by acquiring a majority stake in Chile’s Pan de Azucar (PDA), a lemon and orange grower-packer based in La Serena.
Under the terms of the deal, the US company’s Chilean subsidiary, Chile SpA Limoneira, bought 90 per cent of PDA for US$5.8m.
PDA owns approximately 210 acres of lemon and orange orchards near La Serena, Chile and a 13 per cent equity stake in Rosales, a citrus packer and marketer which packs and sells all of PDA’s citrus production. Rosales is already a partner in Limoneira’s One World Of Citrus marketing team which sells its produce in Chile and throughout the world.
Limoneira said it expects PDA’s annual production to increase in the coming years because the majority of the trees in the orchard are young and will increase production as they mature.
“We are very excited about our expansion in Chile. The majority of the orchards we acquired are young and just beginning to enter into its prime production time period,” said Alex Teague, Limoneira’s senior vice president.
“Our management team has a long-standing relationship with PDA, and we are excited they are now part of the Limoneira team. Along with expanding our participation in the growing global lemon business, this enables Limoneira to provide citrus on a year-round basis to our customers around the world and evaluate future potential investment opportunities in Chile's vast, productive agricultural properties.”
Harold Edwards, Limoneira’s president and CEO said PDA was “a perfect fit for our international expansion plans” to expand internationally as a global, year-round supplier of lemons.
