\u201cWhat an absolutely wonderful crop we have admired from a distance for some time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I don\u2019t know that there is a more beautiful country on the earth than New Zealand with a more beautiful people and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The orchard near Edgecumbe is the Mormon Church\u2019s first New Zealand farmland investment. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Rose said it was Farmland Reserve\u2019s first investment in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
However, the church held hundreds of millions of dollars in assets like property across the country.<\/p>\n
He said it was grateful to fill the need for capital in New Zealand, as a \u201cpassive and patient\u201d long-term investor, with Craigmore taking the operational lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this need that Craigmore brought to us is showing that there is a capital need in New Zealand to support this very growing industry, because it\u2019s very, very expensive to develop. Even one hectare of kiwifruit is costly and so most entities can\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we were excited to be able to come in and to fill that need, particularly given I believe some of the destruction that occurred after that cyclone [Gabrielle] and several years ago, and that really created kind of a capital gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Farmland Reserve <\/a>was not planning to set up as a charity in New Zealand.<\/p>\n Around half of the \u201cpartially-developed\u201d 45ha property was planted in SunGold, and orchard manager Craigmore Sustainables planned to plant a further 17ha in the variety.<\/p>\n Chief executive Che Charteris said it was essential to use offshore investment with partners that shared the same values, in face of limited domestic capital.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it will be in the end about 37.5 to 38ha of SunGold kiwifruit orchard under canopy with good frost protection, good irrigation and hopefully some very good crops for the year to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Charteris said kiwifruit orchard development was expenditure-heavy and could cost anywhere between $200,000 – $800,000 a hectare.<\/p>\n He said Farmland Reserve understood the long-term nature of the asset and the social community aspects that come with land ownership.<\/p>\n \u201cFarmland Reserve are long term in their thinking, so it\u2019s good to have that patient capital, that is willing to rely on New Zealand expertise.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really good example of how New Zealand can utilise the right kind of offshore capital in a way that values local expertise and local influence and control without limiting ourselves just to domestic capital.\u201d<\/p>\n Charteris said it could be hard to find money to re-invest in farms locally, and relying only on domestic capital would see growth opportunities missed.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Zealand, unfortunately, just has a really small pool of domestic capital.<\/p>\n