Chilean exporter David Del Curto (DDC) has invested some $5.3 million in a new, dedicated apple packhouse in Curicó, due to open on 15 February. The facility is 3,325sqm and features a pre-sizer supplied by French agri-mechanical specialist Maf. It is capable of emptying 80 fruit bins an hour. “This represents a saving for the company of some $700,000 a year as we are able to pack much more quickly and efficiently,” said Rodrigo Acuña, market manager at DDC for the Mediterranean market. “We can grade fruit according to colour much more accurately than before.”
Acuña expects the new plant to handle some 105,000 bins containing 40,000 tonnes of fruit this season. Harvesting is due to start in the first or second week of February, he said, with Royal Gala.
