Del Monte, Spanish firm finalize venture

Campos-led food conglomerate Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL), Spanish fruit firm Nice Fruit SL and Ferville Ltd. have finalized a joint venture deal to build a modern cold storage facility in the Philippines.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, DMPL said the modern facility would use Nice Fruit’s patented technology called Nice Frozen Dry (NFD), which allows fruits and vegetables to be picked at their optimal ripeness and frozen for up to three years while preserving nutrients, structure and original properties.

“It is envisaged that the joint venture will process, market and sell Nice Fruit frozen products to various countries,” the disclosure said.

Nice Fruit will control 51 percent of the proposed facility while DMPL and Ferville will have a 35 percent stake. Ferville, a financial investor that was instrumental in forging the partnership between DMPL and Nice Fruit, will have a 14-percent interest.

Nice Fruit is based in Barcelona, Spain and is engaged in the international production and distribution of fruits and vegetables.

With the introduction of the NFD technology, Nice Fruit foresees “radical changes in food consumption habits, and advantages for export and improved food stock management.”

The technology won for this Spanish firm one of the prestigious SIAL Innovation Awards—the Catering and Food Service Award this year at the Salon International de l’alimentation, or SIAL, or the Global Food Marketplace, as well as five awards at the Alimentaria International Salon in Barcelona.

DMPL earlier acquired the consumer food business of privately held American corporation Del Monte Foods (DMFI) for $1.675 billion, allowing the local firm to break into the US market and reunite with its US mother brand. Doris C. Dumlao