BayWa: becomes supplier of exotic fruits

Munich / DE. (bag) BayWa AG will take over the majority of the Dutch supplier of exotic fruits and vegetables, TFC Holland B.V. (TFC) based in De Lier, subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The Munich-based trading and services company will receive 68.4 percent of the company shares for a purchase price of EUR 28.7 million.

The takeover is an important step for BayWa in its international growth strategy in the agricultural segment. TFC has long-standing international trade relations in all procurement markets for exotic fruits – mainly for avocado, mango, ginger and citrus fruits, as well as with the European food retail industry.

By expanding its portfolio in the growth market for exotic speciality fruits, in particular in the «ready-to-eat» sector, BayWa AG is strengthening its position as a leading international supplier of exotic and pome fruit. «The European market for exotic fruits has been on the rise for several years. TFC’s product range of appealing specialities is an excellent complement to our existing pome fruit business», said Chief Executive Officer of BayWa AG, Klaus Josef Lutz, describing the acquisition in the growth strategy in the agricultural sector for specialties. «For the European food retail industry we are gaining significance for future cooperation as a result of this majority stake». Thanks to its apple business BayWa AG is already one of the largest suppliers of pome fruit in international trade. In the global fruit business, the BayWa Group traded around 200’000 tonnes of dessert pome fruit in 2014.

The fruit business is one of the strongest internationally focused business areas within the BayWa Group. The business was largely shaped by the takeover of T+G Global in New Zealand in 2012 and is characterised by trading relations in procurement and sales markets in Asia, Europe and America. In Germany, BayWa is a leading supplier to the German food retail industry and the largest single marketer for German dessert pome fruit and the largest supplier for pome fruit from biological contract farming.