Irish fruit distributor Fyffes Plc has announced a significant investment in melon production in Central America and bought 60 per cent of Florida-based Sol Group Marketing Company.
Fyffes has bought into farming operations in Honduras and Guatemala and also put money into an 85,000sqft warehouse and cold storage facility. Fyffes has also acquired the right to ship all fruit imported from Honduras and Guatemala by the group and Sol Group Marketing will distribute the fruit in the US.
Fyffes has not revealed the cost of its acquisitions, but described Sol as the second-largest importer of winter season melons into the US, shipping eight million boxes into the country each year.
Fyffes shares rose in Dublin on the news.
