The Western Australian government has granted $1 million to meat processor, Mt Barker Chicken, to help expand its operations and capture new market opportunities. The company is the first recipient to share in the latest round of the government’s $6 million Value Add Investment Grant.
Since 2018, more than $152 million in private sector co-investment has been leveraged by $23.8 million-worth of Value Add Investment Grants, creating 1200 jobs across the state.
These grants help Western Australian agrifood and beverage businesses to invest in projects that increase production and growth, to improve competitiveness, sustainability and diversification.
Agriculture and Food Minister, Jackie Jarvis, said the investment will support Mt Barker Chicken to grow and diversify its business, to capture new domestic and export markets.
"The Cook Labor Government's Value Add Investment Grants are an incredible initiative that drive innovation and growth, enabling WA agrifood and beverage operators to take their business to the next level,” said Jarvis.
"These grants are transformational and have created many success stories over the past few years, as well as promoting locally-made and processed products."
The Value Add Investment Grant, matched by company owners the Milne AgriGroup, will assist Mt Barker Chicken to purchase processing equipment and expand capacity by 30 per cent, while improving water, energy and emissions efficiencies.
New state-of-the-art chillers will extend the shelf-life of products by more than 20 per cent, enabling the company to target markets in the eastern states and high-value export markets, including Singapore and Hong Kong.
The expansion will create 20 new jobs at Mt Barker Chicken’s Kendenup and Rockingham facilities, and will enable the company to supply the fast-food restaurant trade with high-welfare, high-quality product.
More successful grant applicants will be announced in coming weeks.
