* Low-end pricing gives IPO maximum value of $409 mln
* Fruit, vegetable firm's listing to be 2nd-biggest of 2015 Greece, China concerns leave Australia IPO market flat (Adds IPO value, listing market context)
By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY, July 22 (Reuters) - Australian fruit and vegetable supplier Costa Group CGCXX.AX priced its share listing near the bottom of a target range, a person close to the deal said, as investor jitters sapped demand for Sydney's second-biggest market debut so far this year.
Costa will sell up to 246 million shares for A$2.25 each, near the low end of a target range of A$2.20 to A$2.70, the person told Reuters, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The total proceeds of up to A$553 million ($409 million) are well below the A$664 million Australia's top provider of fresh fruit and vegetables had hoped to raise as it sells a 76 percent stake. Goldman Sachs & Co [GSGSC.UL} and UBS AG UBSN.S are acting as joint lead managers for the sale.
Costa Group wasn't immediately available for comment.
After a record 2015, Australia's initial public offering market has slowed this year, with the total amount raised in the six months to June 30 down nearly two thirds from the same period a year earlier, Thomson Reuters data showed. The biggest IPO this year the was the A$833 million raised by accounting software maker MYOB Ltd MYO.AX . ID:nL4N0XR8LC
Food supply companies have provided a rare bright spot this year amid hopes they can benefit from a new free trade agreement with China and increasing demand for quality produce, dubbed a "dining boom", from that country's growing middle class.
Shares of dairy supplier Murray Goulburn MGC.AX are trading at a 6 percent premium to their issue price since listing on July 3. Dairy and packaged seafood supplier Beston Global Food Co Ltd BFCXX.AX has meanwhile filed a prospectus to raise A$130 million before listing in August.
But Greece's sovereign debt standoff and China's giant share market correction have hit investor confidence around the world, including Australia. Some $2 billion of planned listings in Australia have been pulled or deferred in recent weeks because of soft demand amid nervous trading.
Since Chinese mainland equities began a tumble of up to a third last month, the Australian benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO has fallen 2 percent. The index is up just 4 percent since the start of 2015.
Costa shares are scheduled to begin trading on Friday. ($1 = 1.3515 Australian dollars)