Australian fresh produce company, Nutrano Produce Group Limited, has acquired Nangiloc Colignan Farms (NCF), a premium 700-hectare citrus, table and wine grape business located in the Sunraysia district in Northern Victoria.
Nutrano Produce Group managing director and CEO, Steven Chaur, said NCF is a well-respected and premium fruit growing operation, which is a perfect complement for the company’s produce business. He said it will substantially enhance its local growing capacity in Mildura, increase volume potential and accelerate global marketing opportunities in both citrus and grape lines.
“Nangiloc Colignan Farms is well established with modern varieties, excellent infrastructure and significant water entitlements. There are considerable opportunities for [it] to expand existing production on the farm as the varietal mix of citrus enhances Nutrano’s existing Sunwest brand citrus marketing and export program. The addition of premium table grapes to our product offering will be attractive to our existing domestic and export customers, as well as providing an additional income stream during the off peak citrus harvest period,” said Chaur.
“The purchase makes Nutrano one of the largest growers of premium quality citrus in Sunraysia and the largest grower in Australia of premium, easy peel seedless Afourer mandarins, which are highly sought after by consumers in Australia and increasingly in Asia for their eating appeal.”
Nutrano said in a statement, the price of the acquisition was not disclosed and the contract is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The acquisition significantly expands Nutrano’s existing citrus farming operations in Sunraysia and now adds premium table and wine grapes to it’s fresh produce farming and marketing mix.
The company currently produces premium citrus, mangoes, blueberries, avocados and soft produce from its existing 2,100 hectares of company farming operations located in Sunraysia, Bundaberg, Mareeba and Katherine.
“We are excited by this opportunity, and we look forward to working with Nutrano to ensure all of NCF’s customers and suppliers have a successful 2018 harvest period and that the NCF operations have a smooth transition to Nutrano over the coming few months,” founder of NCF, Bruno Moras said.
Established in the late 1960’s in North West Victoria, NCF was one of Australia’s largest privately-owned producers of grapes and premium citrus fruits for the domestic and export markets. As well as its 700 hectares of production, it has long-established relationships with a wide network of third-party growers in the region.
Nutrano said approximately 95 per cent of Nangiloc Colignan Farms’ table grapes are exported to customers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and China. It was the first Australian producer to export table grapes to mainland China, in May 2011.
Moras and its staff will remain with the business after the acquisition, as part of the terms of the purchase, to work with local Nutrano management to ensure a successful transition of the farming operations, local growers and the export business.
