As BayBuzz previously reported, earlier this year John Bostock sold some 240 hectares of his apple orchards to Mr Apple.
Now Mr Apple has sold two of its orchards – one on the Heretaunga Plains and one in CHB, with a combined area of 234 hectares – to Craigmore Sustainables. Craigmore is a $1 billion corporate – NZ’s largest diversified rural investment company – with holdings in horticulture, farming and forestry financed via overseas funds, so this purchase needed to be approved by NZ’s Overseas Investment Office.
Not too long ago, German-owned Beehive Demetra bought 72 hectares of orchards from Twyford grower Kiwi Crunch, a deal also involving Craigmore.
Bostock also sold a 62 hectare orchard in Onga Onga to Dutch firm Van Lanschot Kempen.
Hmmm … a pattern here?
As quoted by trade publication Fruitnet, Che Charteris, chief executive at Craigmore commented in connection with the Mr Apple deal:
“New Zealand’s apple sector is facing a very difficult period and requires significant amounts of new capital to transition 30-50-year-old orchards into modern properties with a greater density of trees per hectare and into new, premium varieties. In a country with such limited pools of domestic capital, it is crucial we find sources of offshore capital that share our values and are willing to be subject to the control of New Zealanders who are closer to the impacts of any investment.”
Local smaller scale orchard owners, many still in recovery mode, are scratching for capital to survive. And others are simply selling, marketed by the likes of Colliers and PGG Wrightson.
One student of the HB market tells BayBuzz only six apple growers have Kanoa loans offered after Cyclone Gabrielle, and the number of orchard properties for sale is going up.
Hawke’s Bay would appear to be a buyers’ market for overseas investors. It seems to be all about scale, getting the ‘hot’ varieties in the ground and vertical integration. Say good-bye to the roadside fruit stand!
Looks like NZ will soon become a subsidiary of a number of overseas corporations – that should suit Messrs Luxon, Seymour and Peters – they can snuggle up with their corporate mates while the rest of us keep the money rolling in to support their lifestyles