Wheat growers want $45m Chinese noodle plant built in Geraldton
A consortium of Geraldton wheat growers are lobbying the State Government to have a $45 million Chinese flour mill and noodle processing plant built in Geraldton.
The State Government announced an unnamed Chinese company wanted to trade on WA’s reputation for clean and green food by building a flour mill near Perth to make noodles for children.
The plan is based on the premium Chinese parents are willing to pay for safe, quality food.
Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney said he had contacted Agriculture Minister Ken Baston today, on behalf of the Geraldton consortium, and asked Mr Baston to meet with the local growers to discuss building the proposed noodle plant in Geraldton.
Mr Blayney said Geraldton was well placed to house the facility.
“We are pretty consistent wheat producers and all our wheat is exported at the moment, so there is a domestic buying opportunity, which I would think is an advantage to them (the Chinese)” he said.
“Land is also reasonably priced and we have a good workforce. “
Mr Blayney said people had talked about value-adding to WA’s agricultural products for a long time and the proposed flour mill project was based on a ready-made market for its product.
It is believed construction of the flour mill and associated noodle processing and packaging plant would cost a minimum $45 million based on production of 300 tonnes of flour a day.
The State Government said the proposal was part of what it predicted would become a wave of Chinese investment in agriculture worth billions of dollars.
Regional Development Minister Terry Redman met the company behind the move as part of high-level talks in China in the past few days that included government officials and State-owned enterprises.
Mr Redman would not name the company behind the flour mill project but said it was a big grain processor in southern China with a wide distribution network.
"The company tell us that the premium they will get from the food safety of the supply chain is sufficient to make the numbers work," he said.
Chinese parents are increasingly concerned over a series of food contamination and substitution incidents that have caused deaths and illness in children in recent years.
The company wants to market a specialised noodle product for children trading off the integrity of WA’s food supply chains.
Interflour chief executive Greg Harvey, who operates a string of flour mills in south-west Asia, processing grain from WA farms, said the plan had merit because of WA’s reputation overseas.
He said food safety factors had been key to the success of iconic WA brands Harvey Fresh and Harvey Beef, recently bought by billionaire Andrew Forrest, in building markets in China.
Mr Redman also met Shanghai Zhongfu president Pui Ngai Wu to discuss a billion-dollar investment in the sugar industry on the Ord River irrigation scheme.
Mr Blayney also welcomed the signing of three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between Chinese companies and the Western Australian Livestock Exporters Association, said to underpin arrangements to support a trial of live cattle export to the Chinese province of Hainan Island.
“The MOUs between WA and the Hainan Government could be a major boost to live cattle exports in WA and both ventures form the basis of a really positive move for agriculture in WA,” he said.
Mr Blayney said China was WA’s largest trading partner and WA’s goods exports to China increased at an average annual rate of 32 per cent over the past 10 years.
“Chinese government policy is actively encouraging investors to source high-quality products from around the world and there are a growing number of opportunities for Western Australian producers, ranging from wheat processing and noodle manufacturing to live export of beef cattle,” he said.
