Satara SMALL ONLY

New Zealand grower-packer Satara Co-operative Group is reportedly discussing a potential merger with other players in the kiwifruit industry.

The revelation came following Satara’s strategic review last week and follows on from a July forecast of “significantly lower earnings” for 2010, reported Businesswire.

The talks have been described as “preliminary”, but the announcement boosted the company’s shares 7.7 per cent to NS$0.70 on the NZX 50.