Fruit and veg giant Costa is embarking on a $60 million expansion of its mushroom production facility at Monarto in South Australia to meet growing demand.
Costa said the upgrade will double production at the site from 120 to 240 tonnes a week, and will help it meet growing national demand for fresh mushrooms.
The company has mushroom production facilities in five states, with the Monarto facility the newest. It opened seven years ago and was equipped with state-of-the-art mushroom production technology, according to Costa.
The Monarto facility also has the lowest production cost of all sites, and can supply the rest of Australia within one to two days of shipment.
Costa’s investment is being supported by the State Government through a total $1.8 million grant with equal contributions from the Economic Investment Fund and the Regional Development Fund.
Costa CEO Harry Debney said the availability of land on the existing site helped make the investment happen, with supporting infrastructure already in place and the existence of a one kilometre buffer zone around the site.
"This provides us with longevity of tenure and is important to ensure a return on our investment," Debney said.
Construction on the expansion is expected to start later this year and be operational in 2018, and will create 200 new jobs in the region.
The State Government’s Investment Attraction South Australia said it worked hard to secure the project.
“This is the second significant investment in this region in as many months with recent news that Big River Pork will expand its Murray Bridge facility delivering a further 140 new jobs,"SA’s Minister for Investment and Trade Martin Hamilton-Smith said.
