A new Coffs Harbour site, purchased by berry processing company OzGroup, will be able to handle 50 tonnes of blueberries per day by the time it is fully operational during next year's peak season in October, says Kamaldeep Singh Clair, CEO of OzGroup. “We do also have raspberries starting, but that will be at our existing Woolgoolga site,” he adds. The $12 million Coffs Harbour site purchase was just announced to the media on Thursday, and OzGroup has chosen to focus on Coffs Harbour and blueberries because they can be produced 52 weeks of the year in the microclimate surrounding the NSW country town. “The micro climate in this region is quite good. We have that advantage,” he says. “Of our cooperative grower members all but one from 90 are from the Coffs Harbour region, within 40 to 45 kilometres.”
Demand for blueberries has increased from domestic and international markets, as more and more people learn of the health benefits, and Australian growers continue to improve the size and quality of Australian grown blueberries.
Mr Clair confirms that OzGroup will take advantage of the low Australian dollar and export to Europe as well as fast growing markets such as India and China. “We do look after Europe,” he says. “Even with the increased demand from export markets most of what we process is still being sold in Australia. We still have a good opportunity to improve this market too,” He says. The Japanese market, which used to be significant for OzGroup before concerns over medfly meant that the Japanese stopped accepting their berry shipments from Australia, is also one that Mr Clair hopes to get back on board. “There have been quite a lot of improvements in the last ten years. We do also have access to varieties from the US.”
The blueberry industry is worth a reported $120 million per year to the Coffs Harbour region. By next year, Mr Clair says he hopes that number will be $160 million. The new site is expected to employ 50 people during the busiest part of the year, and cover two and a half thousand square metres.