Mega-glasshouse ‘all but complete’
Millions of strawberries to be exported, Gary Hamilton-Irvine writes.
Amega-glasshouse roughly the size of three football fields which will produce millions of strawberries each year is almost complete. The 22,000sq m glasshouse in Clive, near Napier , will produce delicious berries all year round and boasts state-of-the-art technology.
Japanese-owned Tatsumi NZ Ltd is behind the multimillion-dollar project, and bought a 3.8ha block in 2019 to build the facility on.
The strawberry farm is hoped to be fully operational by mid-2023.
Project manager Mike Harper said the berries would mainly be exported to Japan and China, but some would be sold into the New Zealand market.
“We have the 22,000sq m of glasshouse all but complete,” Harper said. “We can grow strawberries here for 12 months of the year, whereas in Japan they have a very short cycle of growing — where in the winter it is too cold and in the summer it is too hot.”
He said the facility would include 22 kilometres of raised growing beds inside the glasshouse which were still being installed.
It is expected those growing beds will grow about 10 tonnes of strawberries each month.
“This glasshouse is fully automated where the louvres open on the roof ... and the whole thing is totally climate-controlled, and that is all automated, and can be automated from Japan.”
It is expected the venture will create about 15 permanent jobs in the future, and RSE workers have been helping fit out the strawberry farm.
Tatsumi NZ Ltd director Takushi Matsunaga said the company would export to Japan, and plan to export to Singapore and Hong Kong, while some will be sold to the NZ market.
“Hawke’s Bay receives more sunshine than other regions, with cool summers and relatively warm winters, making it an ideal environment for growing fruit year-round in a glasshouse.”