Two big Bay of Plenty avocado packhouse operators have formed a joint venture to cut costs and position themselves for an expected boom in production.
Satara and Aongatete Coolstores' new Bravo Avocado Company is expected to have average annual turnover of around $1.2 million and handle about 15 per cent
of the national avocado crop.
"It'll be a significant player in post-harvest avocado," said Satara group general manager Murray Gough.
But he said it was difficult to tell exactly where Bravo would rank nationally, given the lack of transparency in the industry.
Gough said the venture was aimed at immediately reducing costs and increasing returns to growers. Cost reduction would be even more important in future, with the industry forecast to double production in the next five years as large new planting comes on stream. This could naturally decrease prices, so reducing costs would help sustain grower income and keep fruit coming into the joint venture's packhouses, Gough said.
Most of the national avocado crop is grown in Northland and the Bay of Plenty.
Bravo will pack avocado at Satara facilities in Whangarei and Katikati. Aongatete will stop packing avocados at its Bay of Plenty site but its staff will work for the joint venture, providing advice to growers.
NZAX-listed Satara is a grower-controlled co-operative, with non-listed "transactor" shares having 60 per cent of the voting rights, and the listed "investor" shares 40 per cent.
Gough said it was intended that all Bravo growers would be able to buy Satara transactor shares if they wanted.
