Kurly acquires portion of agricultural company Rokya to grow its business

Market Kurly's deliveries are stacked in a delivery truck. [KURLY]

Kurly announced Friday it acquired an undisclosed stake in agricultural company Rokya for 10 billion won ($7.95 million).

The company was founded in 2011 and focuses on plant breeding and producing different crop varieties. It developed and grows over 60 different varieties of crops, selling them online and supplying them to various companies such as Emart, Nongshim and Kurly.

Kurly said the investment will allow it to get fresher and higher-quality fruits and vegetables to sell on its e-commerce service, Market Kurly.

Rokya is also known for its computerized system that estimates future cost fluctuations of agricultural products, which Kurly says it will use to buy and sell products at the cheapest price point.

"Rokya is a company that proved agricultural products can also be sold at a uniform quality for a non-fluctuating, affordable price," said Kurly CEO Kim Seul-ah. "Both Rokya and we promise to grow by working with farmers and other food suppliers."

Kurly is currently preparing to go public. The company filed an application in March to be listed on the Kospi market sometime in the second half of this year.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]