The governing councils of Actel and Fruits de Ponent, the two largest fruit cooperative groups in Lleida, have decided to begin the path to creating a shared society.
If the alliance is consolidated, the new joint venture would manage more than 100 thousand tons of fruit, reaching an annual turnover that would exceed 160 million euros, adding the various shared business areas, according to a joint statement from the two companies.
Both cooperative groups have already established a work program with the aim that the new entity can begin its activity in the first half of this year, 2024.
The two groups assure that they have validated the preparatory work that they began a few months ago to establish the joint management of the business units of fruit, oil, almonds, energy management and all the services intended for their partners.
Actel and Fruits de Ponen have assured this Wednesday that the decision to seek this collaboration arises after a period of joint reflection by the two cooperatives, taking into account the external context marked by the high concentration of actors in the agri-food value chain and the significant changes in agricultural production caused by the climate emergency, especially accentuated in recent campaigns.
They insist that these factors, together with the objective of promoting the sustainable development of business activity, “pose the challenge of offering their partners greater profitability on their farms, through more efficient transformation and marketing of agricultural products, as well as how to jointly explore greater sizing to address the current high investment needs.”
In addition, this strategic alliance aims to provide a comprehensive service to the entire social mass and seek new business opportunities, especially in areas such as energy, field work support with personnel for producer partners and the recruitment of talent in the future organization. The cooperative principles that both entities share make it an initiative rooted in the territory and at the service of the entire society.
