China's second-largest citrus harvester Dongfang Modern Agriculture (ASX: DFM) has announced the purchase of two farms covering 1200 hectares for RMB400 million (US$60 million).

The aquisition relates to a 400-hectare tangerine farm and an 800-hectare camellia farm, both located in Xunwu County of Jiangxi Province, near to the company's existing plantations.

CEO Charles So said the company continued to aggregate orchards within China's fragmented agricultural sector, with plantations now covering more than 9,800 hecares.

“We remain a key domestic supplier of tangerines, navel oranges, pomelos and camellia fruit products, meeting the growing demand for fruit by consumers in China's tier-one cities," he said.

"We will now take over and manage these two plantations, applying modern tree husbandry, fertilisation and harvesting procedures in order to optimise yields ahead of the 2016 harvest season commencing in September.

"We expect the new aquisitons will increase output by over 19,600 [metric] tonnes and increase gross profit by over CNY30 million (US$4.5 million) for 2016."

An initial payment comprising 80% of the purchase price has already been made, with the full balance payleable within two years' time.

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