New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry is set to see further consolidation, with Te Puke-based Aerocool and Katikati’s Apata set to merge in November, SunLive reports.
The move to join forces will create a new kiwifruit post-harvest company initially to be called Apata Group, managing up to 170ha of kiwifruit orchards and servicing 250 growers in he Bay of Plenty, Northland, Auckland, Wanganui and Hawkes Bay.
The new company will subsequently have a tray capacity estimated at 11m.
The merger will enable Apata Group to meet the significant growth anticipated in the kiwifruit crop when new varieties, particularly gold G3, increase in production.
“There have been a few tough years because of the impacts of Psa-V on crop volumes, but there is now cautious optimism in the kiwifruit industry and we are firmly focused on the next five years,” said Stuart Weston, Apata’s current managing director and anticipated head of the new company. “We expected to pack 8m trays next season and 10m the year after.”
Apata Group is also set to the largest avocado processing company in the Bay of Plenty since its alignment with the newly formed Avoco.
Weston has set about assuring existing staff that the merger, which has been in the pipeline since April, will not result in any job losses.
The Apata-Aerocool merger is furthering alignment within the kiwifruit industry, after the long-awaited merger of EastPack and Satara in May this year.
