The most important purchase in the history of San Miguel

The citrus producing company San Miguel, leader in this sector in the southern hemisphere, has purchased the Peruvian company Agrícola Hoja Redonda S.A., the largest producer of mandarins in Peru, which also grows avocados and table grapes. For San Miguel, this purchase will help towards its objective of operating in 5 different countries. For now, they already work in Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and South Africa.

Federico Böttcher, Corporate Communications Manager of San Miguel S.A., explained that "each country has its strengths, and in Peru, the opportunity arose to acquire this company, which was already strong in the market and in the production of premium mandarins. This purchase is the most important in the history of San Miguel, since having avocados and grapes, as well as mandarins, will help in expanding the range of products that we can offer our customers."

Entering Peru also means "opening to the Pacific Ocean, and from there to the west coast of the United States; a market where a window is opening to Peruvian grapes, which are ready for sale precisely at the time when there are no grapes from other places in the US."

Böttcher clarifies that "in the immediate future, there are no plans to change the name of the firm Agrícola Hoja Redonda," as the integration process has only just started and there are other priorities. Its products, however, will bear the San Miguel brand, and over time, it may become fully integrated under the parent company, San Miguel."

"The goal of the purchases we make is to enhance the operations of the companies that we acquire and make them grow by integrating them into the highly developed San Miguel platform. That's why we buy strong and consolidated companies that can give our customers what they demand, such as premium mandarins in this particular case."

According to Federico, "Peruvian mandarins are characterised by their great quality and we have observed that the international citrus market is constantly expanding. This trend will continue, as citrus fruits are considered to be among the healthiest foods."

Regarding San Miguel's plans for the future, Böttcher explains that they will continue studying making investments in the production of sweet citrus (oranges, mandarins and grapefruit), since "San Miguel currently produces ​​around 50% lemons and 50% sweet citrus, but in reality, between 6 and 7 sweet citrus are consumed for each lemon, so we have to continue working on that line to strengthen our production of these products."