A Place in the Sun for sale: Anthurium flower farm near Lissabon

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Ron van der Ploeg

18 October 2023

Time to swap the Netherlands’ wide-open polder land for Portugal’s sleepy land of cork groves, vineyards and pine forests, the friendly atmosphere of pousadas and the charm of locals? Anthurium4you, one of the country’s premier growers and suppliers of cut Anthuriums based near the medieval village of Obidos (Estremadura), Portugal, is for sale.

Owners and husband and wife team Osvaldo and Edite Branco explain the reason why they have put their 62,000m2 property – including 27,000m2 covered with greenhouse and a Mediterranean-style villa- for sale: “Following medical reasons and family matters, my wife and I have made the hard decision to sell our flower farm, after 27 years of hard work.

Naturally, this decision was not taken light-heartedly We take great pride in achieving what we have up until today. However, it is now time for change. The business is ready to be taken over by the next generation of growers.”

The Anthurium4you cut Anthurium farm is in Obidos in Costa a Prata (Silvery Coast), approximately 80km north of Lisbon.

Serving wholesale customers at home and in Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany, the Brancos grow over 30 Anthurium varieties in raised cultivation gutters. But the couple stresses that, in essence, this cultivation system is also suited to grow different crops.

Drip irrigation allows precise water and nutrient delivery to plants and their roots.

Water from the nearby Arnóia river dam is the primary water source for irrigation. Irrigation water is recycled using two Van Dijk Ecoster drain water disinfectors. These units heat the water to 85°C, a technique that kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Two electric boilers of 450 Kw each and one biomass boiler heat the greenhouse. “All the greenhouses have piping systems, circulating pumps, and switchboards. And to cool the area, all greenhouses are equipped with a pad&fan cooling system and control switchboards,” says Osvaldo.

HPS 600 W fixtures from Hortilux Schréder are used for artificial lighting. “Also, all the areas have thermal screens from Ludvig Svensson for energy saving,” Osvaldo adds.

He says that Anthurium4you takes the environment and its responsibilities seriously. A prime example of the company’s green credentials is 312 solar panels on the roof of the main building, generating a total of 45kW. Solar energy covers about 40 per cent of all the energy input.

Inside the fertigation room, two units are running, one DGT Volmatic AMI 1000 and one Netafim Netaflex 4G, that control about 42 electro valves (sectors) in the greenhouses for Netafim drip irrigation.

Furthermore, a two-storey building hosts offices, a canteen, a cooling chamber and a processing area.

Osvaldo concludes by saying that the region has the potential to become a floral powerhouse as wages are one of the lowest in the EU. Also, Obidos is near the Atlantic Coast and enjoys a benign, ventilated climate with lower temperatures than in the South, where it can be scorching hot.

On top of that, in wintertime, the mercury rarely drops below zero, significantly reducing the energy inputs.

The location has many renewable energy options; solar and wind breeze from the Atlantic gives the possibility of becoming self-sufficient in terms of energy sustainability.

Interested?

Interested people can contact the Brancos directly or through a third party (Embassy or Lawyer Office that represents investors) to schedule a visit to the facilities. (Golden Visa-Portugal Citizenship is applicable for outside EU Member companies/Investors, given free access to all EU Countries’ mobility)