Del Monte Partners with Riverking to Expand Fresh-Cut Fruit in China

Del Monte Corp. Has formed a joint venture with Shanghai-based Riverking to sell fresh-cut fruit across China, targeting an Asian business that generated 9 per cent of its sales.

The partnership, signed through Hong Kong subsidiary Del Monte Fresh Produce (HK), links the New York-listed group with Riverking’s network of 11 distribution centres across mainland China.

Riverking was founded in 2003 and handles supply chains spanning cultivation, sourcing, harvesting and cold-chain distribution. Outside mainland China, the Shanghai firm operates international offices in Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, North America and South America.

Distribution Across Eleven Hubs

Fresh and value-added items delivered $2.62bn of Del Monte’s $4.32bn total revenue last year, while bananas contributed $1.49bn. The group, which changed its corporate name from Fresh Del Monte Produce in June, relies on third-party distributors across China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.

Up to now, South Korea housed the company’s only dedicated fresh-cut processing facility in East Asia. Partnering with an established domestic handler in Shanghai gives the brand immediate cold-storage reach into Chinese supermarket shelves without building out an entire standalone logistics fleet from scratch.

Portfolio Realignment After Asset Deals

The China agreement follows several portfolio shifts by Del Monte over the past year. In January, the group purchased vegetable, tomato and refrigerated fruit lines from California-based Del Monte Foods in a US bankruptcy transaction, after buying a majority stake in Ugandan avocado oil producer Avolio.

Competitors in China’s packaged produce sector face high spoilage risks and fragmented retail networks. For Del Monte, the next metric to watch is whether Riverking’s 11 regional hubs can lift Asian sales above their current 9 per cent share of total revenue.