Turners & Growers believes its planned purchase of Hawke's Bay apple company Apollo Apples will help it meet the growing international demand for the fruit.
It still needs Overseas Investment Office approval, as Turners and Growers' main shareholder is German services company Baywa.
Apollo owns or leases 500ha of apple orchards in Hawke's Bay and exports 1.4 million cartons of apples annually.
Turners & Growers chief executive officer Alastair Hulbert said the $36 million acquisition would improve returns to growers and increase its exports.
He said it increased the company's slice of the domestic apple market from about 27 to 35 percent.
"It gives us some unique things like extra CA (controlled atmosphere) storage capacity to deliver both international and domestic programmes of apples longer into the season."
