Prune packers pairing processing

In the heart of California's prune-growing region, two major packers will join forces.

Yuba City-based Sunsweet Growers Inc. on Wednesday announced the pact with Shoei Foods (USA) Inc., a processor based in Olivehurst.

The deal brings together Sunsweet, the nation's leading packer of dried plums, with Shoei, the No. 3 producer and a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Shoei Foods Corp.

Over the next six months, Shoei will move packing equipment from its Olivehurst plant to Sunsweet's in Yuba City, according to Dane Lance, a Sunsweet sales and marketing director. All prune products sold by Shoei USA will be processed through the Sunsweet facility.

The transplanted line will pack prunes that are produced without preservatives, a Shoei specialty Lance said is currently targeted at the Japanese market but could find a bigger place at U.S. health food stores and gourmet groceries.

"We think it's an idea that has a certain market out there," he said Wednesday.

Calls to Shoei USA's chief executive Don Soetaert were not returned. The future of Shoei USA's work force in Yuba County was not immediately clear.

The two firms will continue to have separate contacts with prune growers, and Lance said the joint packing plan is not the prelude to a Shoei-Sunsweet merger or sale.

Sunsweet said it processes about 50,000 tons of dried plums annually, controlling a third of the world market.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.