Dutch fresh produce company Staay Food Group has confirmed plans to merge the operations of importer Hispa Fruit, in which it holds a 70 per cent share, into its own.
Staayacquired the majority interestin Hispa Fruit last May, leaving Hispa Fruit chief executive Miguel Gonzalez with a minority 30 per cent share.
From the start of 2013, the group will introduce a single commercial division sourcing from its own production sites as well as third-party growers.
'This creates a powerful sales and marketing organisation sourcing from a broad network of own producers and other suppliers,' the company said in a statement.
'The resulting economies of scale will lead to an optimisation of quality in terms of both products and our organisation.'
The two firms' respective premises are set to be retained, although Staay said it was investigating the possibility of centralising all of its commercial staff at the existing Hispa Fruit site in Barendrecht.
That could potentially see all of the companies' produce handling teams brought under one roof at Staay's facilities, also located in Barendrecht.
Other companies within the Staay Food Group, including Alexport, Frupaks and Savasun, are expected to benefit from the integration of sourcing and marketing functions.
As part of the original agreement to purchase a majority stake in Hispa, Staay automatically acquired an equivalent share in Agricola Agromonte SA, a 2,500ha pineapple plantation in Costa Rica.
That stakeholder agreement brought the overall turnover of the Staay Food Group to more than €475m.
