The new fund aims to capitalise on a sector that has seen enormous growth and continues to outperform other agricultural sectors over recent years.
In simple terms, if clients invest $5 million into our funds, it provides a pathway for them to secure residency. This gives our clients the ability to meet the investment requirements of the Active Investor Plus visa through investing in one of New Zealand’s most successful industries.
Funds raised by investors—who must be of good health and character—could contribute to ownership of new or existing orchards or shares in marketer Zespri.
Jones highlighted New Zealand’s advantages, including excellent kiwifruit-growing conditions, counter-seasonal supply for the Northern Hemisphere, and the single-desk Zespri model.
“New Zealand is quite easily the best place in the world to grow kiwifruit, so we can produce a lot more per hectare than other countries around the world. And the big advantage for New Zealand kiwifruit is we are supplying those markets when they can’t supply themselves,” he said.
While the fund manager considered other lucrative sectors such as manuka honey or Rockit apples, market structures or policy settings posed risks compared to kiwifruit. “We keep coming back to kiwifruit because it’s consistently outperforming a lot of sectors, really,” Jones added.
The growth category requires an investment of at least $4.8 million and three weeks spent in New Zealand over three years by applicants. Meanwhile, the balanced category requires a minimum investment of $9.7 million (US$5.8 million) and at least 105 days spent in New Zealand over five years.
Greener Pastures will soon have new SunGold orchards coming on stream in the Bay of Plenty. Within the next year, the firm expects to have five domestic and international funds in operation, four of which are solely focused on kiwifruit.
This development comes as another investor, MyFarm, is currently raising $35 million to add to its $200 million KiwiFruit Fund. The offer will pay for expanding its portfolio of kiwifruit orchards in Northland and Bay of Plenty, as well as buying more shares in Zespri.
Chief Executive Andrew Watters noted that kiwifruit is now the fourth-largest primary sector export after dairy, meat, and forestry.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/new-kiwifruit-investment-fund-targets-wealthy-foreigners-wanting-nz-residency/5PBMGJH7ZRHKNIHD2CCFTVLBBU/