One of the country’s largest privately owned olive groves is on the market for sale or possible partnerships.
The Big Olive is listed as a blue-chip olive industry investment with Colliers International of Adelaide as an investment opportunity that includes an olive grove and a state of the art processing facility that is estimated to be valued between $25 million and $30 million.
The Big Olive processing, bottling and packaging factory was established in 1998.
The commercial offering is situated off the Dukes Highway near Tailem Bend and includes water licences for 6,237 megalitres and prepared ground for the planting of 12,000 almond trees which have been already trialed.
The total land area is 2,726ha of which 385ha is planted with more than 100,000 olive trees with varieties of fruit which are processed into both table olives and oil.
The grove has about 17 different olive varieties with the principal ones being Frantoio, Leccino, Picual, Nevadillo Blanco, Mission, Barnea, Coratina for oil producing and, Manzanillo (dual purpose), Kalamata, Spanish Queen, Barouni, and Mediterranean for table olives.
The holding also includes a 61ha premium vineyard, a fruit orchard comprising 6,500 pine-nut trees and pomegranate and gourmet fig trees.
Manager of the Big Olive Jo Hani told the Olivegrower & Processor that the listing was to attract potential investors into the significant expansion in further plantings, contract processing and production that was planned for the enterprise.
He said that the company was looking for synergies from partnerships that could take the operation to the next level of growth.
Hani said that exports and distribution networks had been increasing and seeking investors was intended to open up opportunities for others to be involved in this significant progress.
The Big Olive has three established brands that Hani said are supplying a growing local and international demand that with exports to South East Asia and North America.
He also said that there were good opportunities domestically in replacing the large amounts of cheap olive oil that was being dumped in Australia.
The Big Olive sells bulk volumes in containers with 1000, 200 and 20 litre capacity and commercial containers of 3 litre, 1 litre, 750ml, 500ml, 250ml, 100ml and 25ml.
