New pineapple processing facility to cater for domestic and international tastes
Posted on December 18th, 2019
Yeppoon and surrounding communities are set to benefit from a new pineapple processing facility being constructed in the area, with the $11,616,000 project on track for completion by June 2020.
In a joint-funded project with the Australian Government, Hidden Valley Harvest will construct a new pineapple processing facility, using new food processing technologies to create new high value and highly nutritious value-added products.
Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said the new 2,000 m2 factory will meet consumer demands locally and internationally for high quality processed fruit products and will attract new customers to the Queensland pineapple and tropical fruit industries.
“The project will boost the skills and knowledge of regional people in the use of leading edge food technology, provide a more sustainable way of managing fruit supply to meet consumer demand and provide a significant boost to the local area by generating economic activity throughout the region.
“We have the best quality pineapples here in Yeppoon and I’m happy to see how the ingenuity of primary producers will create new and exciting products with existing stocks,” Ms Landry said.
This project supports 46 jobs in construction and creates an expected 26 ongoing jobs after completion, in addition to using local businesses and producers.
The project received $5,808,000 in funding from the Australian Government under the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages (RJIP).
RJIP’s intended outcomes are to drive economic growth and create jobs in 10 pilot regions by investing in projects that will; diversify regional economies, stimulate long-term growth, deliver sustainable employment, and enable applicants to enter new markets and sectors.
There are 10 packages, each is a locally led pilot, enabling each region to determine local priorities and growth industries to drive economic growth in their region and create jobs.
