Gebbers Farms and Chelan Fruit Cooperative have joined to acquire a fifty percent stake in four closely associated fruit producers in Chile. The four Chilean companies are currently owned by a Toronto-based family trust but will ultimately be rolled into one new company to be named Chilean South Apples, or "CHISA." Today the CHISA companies combined comprise 1700 acres of apple and cherry orchards, many of which are still young, as well as packing, nursery and sales operations. CHISA will directly export about 1.2 million cartons of tree fruit to markets in Asia, the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Latin America. Chelan Fruit Cooperative CEO Reggie Collins says the two Washington companies have maintained a trade relationship for many years before entering the new venture. Collins says the goal of the venture is to offer a year-round supply of high quality apple varieties to worldwide customers and to continue expanding CHISA’s operations. Chelan Fruit Cooperative is a major packer of apples, pears and cherries located in Chelan, WA, USA and is owned by 270 grower-members. Gebbers Farms is a large family-owned producer of apples, pears and cherries centered in Brewster, WA, USA. Chelan Fruit Cooperative and Gebbers Farms jointly market their fruit through Chelan Fresh Marketing of Chelan, WA using the Trout, Chelan Fresh and Danny Boy labels, among others. Chelan Fresh Marketing supplies about 15 million cartons of apples, pears and cherries to markets worldwide.
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