Keelings, the family-owned fresh produce business based in north Dublin, has acquired a large-scale pineapple farm in Costa Rica for an undisclosed sum. On Wednesday, Keelings announced it had acquired Las Brisas, a 900ha (2,225ac) pineapple farm located in Costa Rica.

According to Keelings, this is a large-scale farm that produces, processes and packs more than 24m pineapples each year, which will be sold into export markets in Europe and the US. The Las Brisas farm employs 460 people and is the first certified pineapple farm in the world to produce and export pesticide-free pineapples.

“This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment at Keelings to both growing and sourcing quality fruit in the best way possible. We are delighted to welcome the Las Brisas colleagues to the Keelings family of companies,” said Caroline Keeling, CEO of Keelings Fruits.

Still a family-owned Irish business, Keelings now grows, sources, packs and distributes fresh fruit and salads to export markets like the UK, EU, Middle East and Asia.