The Premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill and Minister for Trade, Martin Hamilton-Smith today visited Costa’s South Australian mushroom farm at Monarto to announce their government’s $1.8 million funding contribution toward a $60 million expansion of the facility.
In announcing the funding, Premier Weatherill said the expansion of Costa’s Monarto mushroom farm will see South Australia have the largest and most technologically advanced mushroom production facility in Australia.
“This is another welcome investment in South Australia and reflects the state’s reputation for producing high quality and safe premium food”, said Premier Weatherill.
Costa Group CEO Harry Debney said that the company was very pleased to have the support of the South Australian Government and their contribution to the expansion which will create 200 new jobs.
“South Australia is an important state for Costa as we also have significant citrus plantings in the Riverland, along with avocados and a wholesale stand at the Adelaide produce markets. I want to commend the Premier and Minister for their support in growing South Australia’s agricultural footprint and in particular horticulture”, said Mr Debney.
The investment by Costa will see weekly mushroom production at the site double from 120 tonnes to 240 tonnes.
The Monarto site is Costa’s most modern and state of the art mushroom production facility, the most efficient in terms of cost of production across all of Costa’s mushrooms facilities and because of its central location within Costa’s network of mushroom farms, it is able to supply the Australian market within one to two days of shipment.
“The availability of land on the existing site has helped make this investment happen with supporting infrastructure already in place and the existence of a one kilometre buffer zone around the site. This provides Costa with longevity of tenure and is important to ensure a return on our investment”, said Mr Debney.
