Two companies have launched a joint venture to provide fresh produce exclusively to Asda.
International Produce, a business combining the import activities of Geest’s English Village Salads and Thames Fruit, began trading this week. It will import salads, citrus fruits, grapes and melons, as part of the 10% of fresh produce Asda sources from outside the UK.
The company, in which Geest has a 76% stake and Thames Salads 24%, has been established to provide an efficient supply chain for Asda.
Pre-tax profit in the first year is forecast to be £1.7m.
International Produce intends to expand over the next two years, sourcing a wider portfolio of produce.
About 300 new jobs in Yorkshire and Kent are expected to be created - more than doubling the workforce by next year - to handle what the company estimates will be 30 million boxes in 2005.
Mike Snell, Asda sourcing development director, said: “International Produce has the responsibility to deliver imported produce that exceeds our customers’ expectations.”
International Produce, a business combining the import activities of Geest’s English Village Salads and Thames Fruit, began trading this week. It will import salads, citrus fruits, grapes and melons, as part of the 10% of fresh produce Asda sources from outside the UK.
The company, in which Geest has a 76% stake and Thames Salads 24%, has been established to provide an efficient supply chain for Asda.
Pre-tax profit in the first year is forecast to be £1.7m.
International Produce intends to expand over the next two years, sourcing a wider portfolio of produce.
About 300 new jobs in Yorkshire and Kent are expected to be created - more than doubling the workforce by next year - to handle what the company estimates will be 30 million boxes in 2005.
Mike Snell, Asda sourcing development director, said: “International Produce has the responsibility to deliver imported produce that exceeds our customers’ expectations.”
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