Seeka Limited has announced the purchase of Northland avocado orchard, Shirttail Orchard in Pukenui, Houhora, New Zealand which it will jointly own along with two other parties.

The 28 hectare evenly contoured orchard, which will be renamed and operate as Rising Sun Orchard Limited, has a proven high avocado production history.

As part of the transaction, Seeka has also agreed to purchase an adjacent property for development, with up to six hectares for additional planting.

Both the orchard and development property will continue to be managed by the existing owner and all staff have been retained, although now employed by Seeka.

Michael Franks, Seeka's CEO, says that the purchase was an important step in expanding Seeka's integrated avocado business.

'This acquisition, of one of the best avocado orchards in Northland, compliments Seeka's existing supply in the area. We will continue to actively look for orchard investments in the Far North.”

Franks explains that Seeka had strong demand in 2017 with its wholesale and retail avocado programmes in Australia and export and marketing programmes to Japan and Korea.

'Seeka operates at every part of the supply chain, as a grower, as the harvester and post-harvest packer, and as the marketer. Our brand has a reputation for premium quality and is sought after in key markets, and this quality focus translates to superior returns for our growers.”