Del Monte Fresh Produce Expands its Tomato and Vegetable Program

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. announced that one of its North America subsidiaries acquired approximately 2,620 acres of agricultural production land located Northwest of Palm Beach, Florida. “The land on the east side of Lake Okeechobee is ideally located and has an ample water supply which is excellent for the cultivation of tomatoes and other crops. This acquisition is an excellent opportunity for us to fill in the winter gap in our local field grown tomato program and we are now confident that we can offer our customers a continuous field grown tomato program year round. This land also allows us to expand our tomato and vegetable product offerings, by adding a range of other crops such as cucumbers, bell peppers, watermelons and squash,” says Paul Rice Sr., vice president North America operations of Del Monte. “As we communicated late in 2013, following the acquisition of approximately 7,200 total acres of agricultural production land, packing houses and farm equipment in Florida and Virginia, this newest acquisition is further proof of our commitment to the tomato category and our intent to expand our other vegetable and melon offerings. At the same, time we plan to continue to work with our third party producers,” he adds.