Costa Group buys Sunraysia citrus property
Horticultural behemoth Costa Group is expanding its citrus portfolio in the lucrative Sunraysia fruit-growing region.
HORTICULTURAL powerhouse Costa Group will purchase a citrus farm and packing operation in Sunraysia and has signalled further acquisitions are on the cards in the region this year to capitalise on Asia’s insatiable demand for Australian citrus fruits.
The Australian Securities Exchange-listed company said it has signed conditional agreements for the purchase of the farming operations of KW Orchards citrus farm and an associated packing operation, EJT citrus packing facility, in southwest NSW.
The purchase will bump up the company’s citrus plantings in Sunraysia to 700ha.
The citrus property is 600ha, 312ha of which is planted to citrus varieties and 45ha to wine grapes, and has water assets including 1076ML of permanent water licences and a 100ML dam.
Costa has not disclosed the price, which will be funded from existing debt facilities and is expected to be finalised before the end of the month.
Most of the citrus trees are less than four years old, with a quarter more than 10 years old.
Costa chief executive Harry Debney said KW Orchards had an attractive varietal mix well suited to the export market.
“It will play an important role in our capacity to take further advantage of strong citrus export demand,” Mr Debney said.
Costa has plans in the pipeline to build a large-scale citrus packing facility in Mildura that will be used for its own packing needs as well as third-party growers in the Sunraysia region. The EJT packing operation is intended to be used in the interim.
Costa shares began trading around $4.60 this month, a high not witnessed for almost two years.
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