Citrus specialist San Miguel has acquired four new farms in the Sundays River Valley in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The company said that of the 425ha, 296ha are already planted and the remaining are earmarked for future production. The deal also includes the purchase of a packhouse with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes and water rights for a total of 567ha of land.
“This acquisition will enable us to selectively manage varieties from strategic producers, as well as pre-sort lemons to obtain a cleaner product destined for processing,” the company said.
“We are well known for having the operating capacity to be able to guarantee supplies to customers wherever they are located and this deal will further strengthen our production base and boost our presence in South Africa.”
Due to its proximity to Asian and Middle Eastern markets, South Africa forms a key plank of San Miguel’s strategy of becoming the leading supplier of Southern Hemisphere citrus and the company believes that beefing up its production in the country will serve as a springboard into new markets.
“Among other things it will provide more balance between our lemon and sweet citrus output in order to ensure that we can meet the demands of our global clients,” the company said.
