Chilean-based produce company Unifrutti Traders Ltda has offered clarification around an acquisition involving another Italian group, Kiwi Uno.

In some press outlets it was reported Kiwi Uno was purchased by Unifrutti Traders, however the deal only had to do with its Chile-based subsidiary Uni Kiwi S.A.

Unifrutti Traders managing director German Illanes told www.freshfruitportal.com his company previously owned 50% of Uni Kiwi, with the other half owned by the Rivoira family's Italian company Kiwi Uno SpA.

"What we bought at the end of November was effectively the 50% of Uni Kiwi S.A. that Kiwi Uno had, which are the fields in Chile," Illanes said.

With the acquisition, Unifrutti now plans to go ahead with varietal conversion plans for eight Uni Kiwi farms, which span 500 hectares of land from the Metropolitana Region to the area of Los Angeles in the Bio bio region. 

Unifrutti Traders is part of the broader Unifrutti group owned by the De Nadai family in Italy, which also has production in South Africa and the Philippines. 

In October last year, the De Nadai family sold its 75% stake in Unifrutti of America, which was rebranded as Tastyfrutti International Inc in mid-2016. 

www.freshfruitportal.com