WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. — Dole Food Company, Inc. has acquired TucFrut Farms and packing facilities in the Molina and Linares areas of Chile. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Located 140 miles south of Santiago, Chile, the TucFrut property consists of five farms spread over 2,400 acres that produce apples, blueberries and kiwifruit on more than 1,600 acres. The TucFrut farm will strengthen Dole’s product portfolio with premium apple varieties and kiwifruit, Dole said, as well as provide the company’s first own production of Chilean blueberries.
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| Johan Linden, president and c.o.o. of Dole |
“With the acquisition of TucFrut, we are strengthening our leadership of Dole’s Chilean deciduous export business and diversified fruit operations,” said Johan Linden, president and chief operating officer of Dole. “Dole Chile has been a success story for Dole since the 1980s based on our grower supply and a worldwide distribution under the Dole label.”
The purchase also provides Dole with farmland that has yet to be developed for production.
“A large portion of the farm is yet to be planted, and we intend to plant varieties that will satisfy our customers’ needs in the years to come,” said Francisco Chacon, president of Dole Diversified Fruit Operations. “The TucFrut fruit farms acquisition is the most visible part of our growth in Chile this year.”
In addition to the TucFrut acquisition, Dole recently added three grape farms totaling more than 1,400 acres to its long-term grape suppliers.
“This acquisition is aligned with the company’s push toward investing and upgrading its packing and post-harvest infrastructure as well as improving grower services,” Dole said. “This investment is fully incremental to the current supply base and is a further commitment to the Chilean produce industry and the wider landscape of citrus and deciduous produce. It is the continuation of Dole’s long-term growth strategy in Chile.”
