Unica Group and Murgiverde finally broke off the negotiations that started several months ago to reach a merger that would have led to the concentration of more than 2,500 hectares of crops and around 280,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables in Almeria. According to the Head of Marketing and Communication of Unica Group, David Murcia, "not only would the merger have led to a greater concentration of supply, but it would have also strengthened the product range and would have resulted in a wider supply schedule."
Although it has eventually not worked out due to the difficulties encountered with the joint marketing of their products, at one point the agreement had actually seemed certain.
Since its founding in the summer of 2009, Unica Group has pursued to merge more and more companies to create a more powerful group. Nowadays, it markets 100% of the products of 6 agricultural cooperatives from Almeria and Granada, namely Ferva, Casur, Cohorsán, Cabasc, El Grupo, AgriEco and Parque Natural. The latter joined Unica Group last year and the merger became effective in the 2013/2014 campaign, allowing the group to reach an estimated 200 million Euro turnover. Furthermore, the entry of Parque Natural has already strengthened Unica Group's position with products like watermelon and has turned it into Spain's largest tomato on the vine marketer.
"Even though the merger agreement with Murgiverde is not going through, this does not mean that Unica Group will discontinue its growth strategy, in line since it was founded," says David Murcia.
For its part, Murgiverde, founded in 2005, was the result of a previous merger between Agromurgi and Ejidoverde, and later joined by Campovícar and Geosur. It currently has a total of 1,000 hectares of greenhouses located in the west of Almeria, with an annual fruit and vegetable production reaching 100,000 tonnes.