Farmfolio, the leading platform for direct farmland ownership opportunities and one of the top exporters from Colombia, is pleased to announce the first distribution to investors in Valle Verde, its advanced Tahiti lime packing facility located in Apartadó, Colombia.
“Our goal with Valle Verde was to bridge the gap between Colombian lime farmers and international markets by establishing a state-of-the-art facility with the best packing equipment, cold storage facilities, and industry standard certifications,” said Dax Cooke, Founder and CEO of Farmfolio. “With exceptional farmland, high-quality trees, and growing international demand, we knew there was potential for a vertically integrated year-round supplier in Colombia. We funded the project in less than a year, and despite unprecedented pandemic-related construction challenges, we opened with just a short delay in September 2020. Between then and July 2021, we’ve already exported over 100 containers representing almost 2,300,000 kilograms of Tahiti limes to the United States and Europe. This distribution is a reflection of the dedication of our team and the foresight of our investor community.”
Investors will receive a distribution of $58 per unit owned, equating to a 5.7 percent return based on Valle Verde’s first half 2021 performance to date.
Looking ahead, Farmfolio’s second semester growth forecast estimates a 212 percent increase in Tahiti lime exports compared to the same period in the prior year, driven by strong demand in the retail and food service sectors. Farmfolio expects to pay a similar distribution to Valle Verde investors in early 2022, which would lead to an annualized 11.4 percent return.
With the success of Valle Verde, Farmfolio has launched LOTs (Land Ownership Titles), a new real estate development initiative to increase the supply of limes. Under this initiative, Farmfolio acquires and subdivides large, already producing lime farms and then offers smaller plots to real estate investors looking to add farmland to their portfolios. “LOTs provide real estate buyers exposure to highly profitable farmland with economies of scale, without the price tag of a large farm. LOTs start at just $32,000 and they come with an established offtake contract with Valle Verde to purchase the fruit at a fixed price,” said Peter Badger, Chief Strategy Officer of Farmfolio.
Farmfolio is looking to develop an additional 1,000 hectares to maximize the Valle Verde packing facility before its expansion project slated for 2022.
