NORTHERN Territory and Queensland mango producer Manbulloo Mangoes has received a $500,000 interest-free loan from the Coles Nurture Fund to expand production.
The loan aims to ensure customers can buy locally-grown mangoes at Coles.
The announcement came as Manbulloo managing director Marie Piccone was recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year at the National Telstra Business Women's Awards in Melbourne recently for the success of her business.
Manbulloo Mangoes is the nation’s largest producer of Kensington Pride mangoes.
The Manbulloo team will sell more than 4.5 million mangoes through Coles this season.
As demand for the tropical fruit increases, Manbulloo will embark on a major expansion project over the next four years, planting nearly 22,000 new mango trees on 130 hectares at its Katherine farm.
To kick-start the project, Manbullo will use funding from the Coles Nurture Fund to prepare 30ha of land, install a bore and irrigation system, and plant 5500 trees.
Coles managing director John Durkan said Manbulloo Mangoes had supplied Coles with top quality mangoes for nine years.
In 2014-15 Manbulloo tripled the number of mangoes it supplied to Coles compared to the previous year, and is gearing up for another bumper year.
