Agritech company DeHaat is acquiring Freshtrop Fruits' export business for Rs 77 crore (about $9.3 million). Freshtrop Fruits' export vertical personnel, including its top leadership, will also be transferred to Sofina and Temasek-backed DeHaat as part of the agreement.

 

The regulatory filing from Freshtrop Fruits said DeHaat is acquiring its network and grading, packing and precooling centres. Freshtrop Fruits is a Rs 250-crore business that was founded in 1992 and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, as per economic times.

 

“We clearly foresee building a Rs 1,000-crore export business of fruits and vegetables from India in the next three to four years,” Dehaat founder and chief executive Shashank Kumar added.

 

Kumar stated that the business has invested around $20 million on acquisitions thus far, with Freshtrop Fruits being the most significant. So far, DeHaat has purchased six companies: Vezamart, Farmguide, Helicrofter, YCook, FieldFresh Foods, and Freshtrop Fruits.

 

Dehaat is expanding its presence in the export of fruits and vegetables, which it began with the acquisition of Field Fresh in May 2022. Field Fresh, a Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific joint venture, sells exotic fruits and vegetables to Europe.

 

DeHaat, largely an agri inputs marketplace, is seeing steady growth in its export business on the output side of the agriculture supply chain. The company’s export business makes 10% of its overall revenue. “This will become 18-20% post the latest acquisition. The number will grow rapidly, but at a steady state, it will remain at about25% of the total business,” Kumar told.

 

Freshtrop Fruits operates in two business segments: exporting and processing. The company's processing operation continues to function independently.