Agrico acquires majority stake in Parkland Seed Potatoes Ltd

The Dutch potato cooperative Agrico has recently purchased more shares in its joint investment Parkland Seed Potatoes Ltd, granting it a majority stake in this Canadian seed potato company.

Agrico started to work together with the Edmonton-based Canadian seed potato company in 1997. In 2005 Agrico bought the first 25 % shares in Parkland and increased its share in 2008 to 49%. The cooperative’s growth strategy and the opportunities it sees in North America have now urged it to acquire a majority stake by increasing its share in Parkland by another 21%.

Parkland Seed Potatoes Ltd was established in 1997 with a 100% focus on selling seed potatoes grown by its affiliated growers in Canada. Besides a large cultivation area in Canada, Parkland now also has growers in the USA. Parkland offers Agrico added value in the form of a share in the trade margin, but above all royalties of protected Agrico varieties.

Agrico’s General Director Jan van Hoogen explains his organisation’s move: ‘I am delighted with our new majority share in Parkland. North America offers us promising opportunities for systematically generating more income for our cooperative. Our cooperation with this strong partner will enable us to benefit from those opportunities even more in the near future.’