Fruit Grower Alianza (FGA), the UK/European office of Gesex announce the creation of PURA GESEX, an alliance of Pura Fruit, formerly Agrícola San José de Piura, and Defrusa, the Peruvian farm of GESEX. The new company will manage the global export and logistics of the operations.
In the next 3 years this Peruvian operation has a potential of 6 million boxes and US$120 million business, making it a top three grape producer in Peru and a sizeable exporter worldwide.
The alliance takes place during an important transformation of Pura Fruit, after being acquired by the Costa Verde Group, which has made investments of US$20 million in the last years, implementing state-of-the-art technology and a full replacement with new varieties licensed from the main genetic programs.
Manuel Jose Arriagada - CEO of Pura Fruit and Felipe Arriagada - CEO of Costa Verde
“Our focus today is quality over quantity, and we have developed a very meticulous production process, so that each plant is able to express its full quality potential,” says Manuel José Arriagada, CEO of Pura Fruit.
Jon Clark, Managing Director of FGA, sees this as an exciting development accelerating the business as grape growers in Peru, complimented by its grape production in Chile. “We can offer leading varieties and a complete South American grape solution for our customers in the UK & Europe through our own farm production, something very few companies can offer as grower/ owners over a 9 month period.”
Christian Gwynne - CEO of GESEX and Manual Aspillaga Commercial Manager at GESEX
According to Christian Gwynne, CEO of GESEX, “This agreement allows us to consolidate our agricultural and commercial projects more quickly and with a solid structure, integrating agricultural production with packing, technical handling and marketing operations in the destination markets.”
The chairman of GESEX, Cristián Allendes, says in an increasingly globalized and competitive world, it is crucial to remain dynamic, active and attentive to changes in the industry. "We are convinced that alliances empower companies, make them more robust and allow them to do better business, strengthening their commercial relationships with customers, also benefiting their collaborators."
World-class producers
This alliance gives PURA GESEX 2,200 hectares, with more than 1,100 planted with new licensed varieties, and the rest are available for planting.
According to Manuel Aspillaga, commercial manager of GESEX, “This will allow us to serve our customers, especially our supermarket programs in the United States, England and Europe, and our commercial network in Asia.”
In the 2020-2021 campaign, the volume increased by approximately 17%, and Peru is currently one of the most important suppliers of grapes worldwide. This alliance will position us as one of the main strategic partners, both at a productive and commercial level.”
Gesex produces 8.5 million cartons of cherries, stonefruit, grapes and citrus in Chile - the UK/European business is co-ordinated with FGA.
For more information:
Jon Clark
FGA
Tel: +44 1354 699420
Email: jon.clark@fgaltd.co.uk