A new food storage facility near Perth Airport is being built to increase Western Australia's capacity to store fruit and vegetables and reduce vulnerability to future supply chain disruptions.
The Woolworths Group facility, currently under construction, will be able to hold up to 6,000 tonnes of fresh produce and expand its storage capacity by around 10,000 pallets. The development follows disruptions in 2022 when floods cut off the Trans-Australian railway for 24 days, interrupting supply to the state and leaving supermarket shelves empty.
The facility already includes controlled rooms designed to manage the ripening process for bananas and avocados under specific temperature and humidity conditions.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the project is part of broader efforts to make the state's food supply system more resilient. "When the interstate rail line went down for three weeks, we really saw how we needed to strengthen the supply chain, in particular, some of the products that weren't available in WA because it was reliant on being moved across the nation," she said. "Since that time, there's been a number of initiatives, including strengthening the resilience of that rail line, but creating more capacity in WA in particular."
Primary Connect supply chain director Chris Brooks said the new facility will support supply stability across Western Australia. "It's all anchored in improving the resilience of our supply chain in Western Australia, and really helping support our customers shopping in more than 100 stores throughout the state, from the far North West of WA to the South West and, of course, throughout the Perth metropolitan area," he said.
Brooks added that the project will help ensure consistent product availability. "It will really improve the resilience for our customers and our stores and help future-proof us against major events which we experienced back in 2022 and, of course, to a lesser extent, last year," he said.
The facility is expected to strengthen Western Australia's capacity to manage supply interruptions by providing greater storage flexibility for perishable goods and locally produced fruit and vegetables.
Source: The West Australian
