Red Rich Fruits (NSW) Limited has added citrus orchards to its portfolio following the acquisition of three properties in Gayndah, Queensland for undisclosed sums.

A leading Australian, family-owned grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruit, the acquisitions will enable Red Rich Fruits to market their own fruit across three major categories.

Managing Director Matthew Palise says the acquisitions signal a new phase of Red Rich Fruits’ growth:

“We pride ourselves on supply chain integration and see this as a great strategic fit, enabling us to harvest and sell our own fruit year-round, across the pomefruit, stonefruit and citrus categories” he said.

The properties include 150 hectares of primarily mandarin orchards, grown in good quality alluvial sandy loam soil on the banks of the Burnett River. They also feature a 1530 square metre packing shed, two cool rooms, full irrigation infrastructure, and generous water allocations.

“The properties also incorporate arable land so there’s plenty of room to grow from here” he said.

The move has been well-received by retailers, and export interest has also been strong.

“We have two main mandarin varieties on the orchards. Our Imperial mandarins will all be sold domestically. Coles has been a great support, with the bulk of the product selling through their stores.”

“Our Murcott mandarins have been especially popular overseas, and we’ve established a program to send the whole crop into China,” he added.

Picking and packing for the 2018 citrus season at the three new orchards commenced over Easter, amid ideal growing conditions.

“We’ve had a strong start to the 2018 citrus season. Growing conditions have been perfect over the last few months with consistently good volumes of rain and good sunshine.

“We’re getting great fruit and good size and are expecting this to continue over the next few weeks”, he said.