SunRice, an Australia-based rice supplier in the food and beverage industry, has recently entered into a share buy-back agreement to acquire Trukai Industries, a leading rice group in Papua New Guinea.
Trukai, founded in 1970, has been the top supplier of rice to Papua New Guinea for 50 years. With SunRice already owning 66.23% of Trukai, the remaining shares will be acquired from Melanesian Trustee Services Limited (MTSL) for K42.5m ($11.94m).
The completion of this deal, expected by the end of June, will result in the resignation of current MTSL-nominated Trukai directors. The Trukai board will then be exclusively made up of SunRice nominees.
Headquartered in Lae, Morobe Province, Trukai offers various rice products such as medium grain, jasmine, brown, and roots. The company operates additional sales centers across Papua New Guinea.
SunRice CEO Rob Gordon expressed the company’s commitment to Papua New Guinea, emphasizing its investment and dedication towards providing high-quality and secure sources of rice to support local communities and ensure food security.
Meanwhile, SunRice recently secured a ‘Sole and Exclusive Export Licence Agreement’ (SEEL) for exporting rice from New South Wales, Australia. The Australian Rice Marketing Board (RMB) granted this license, allowing SunRice to sell and supply New South Wales rice internationally until 2027.
Gordon, due to retire in August and be succeeded by Paul Serra, highlighted the benefits of the SEEL in terms of increased efficiencies and cost reduction in the supply chain for growers.
In addition to this, SunRice renewed its strategic agreement with a commercial partner in China. The agreement pertains to the supply of milled white rice to key markets in the Pacific and will be in effect from July until the end of the year.