Joe Cooper, supervisor at the strawberry glasshouse, helping with the fit-out. Photo / Warren Buckland
Joe Cooper, supervisor at the strawberry glasshouse, helping with the fit-out. Photo / Warren Buckland
A mega-glasshouse roughly the size of three football fields near Napier which will produce millions of strawberries each year is almost complete.
The 22,000sq m glasshouse in Clive will produce delicious berries all year round and boasts state-of-the-art technology.
Japanese-owned company Tatsumi NZ Ltd is behind the multimillion-dollar project, andbought a 3.8-hectare piece of land back in 2019 to build the facility on.
The strawberry farm is hoped to be fully operational by mid-2023.
Tatsumi NZ Ltd director Takushi Matsunaga and project director Mike Harper alongside RSE workers who have been helping with the planting of crops. Photo / Warren Buckland
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.
The glasshouse facility spans across an area about the size of three football fields.
“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.”
The facility is located off Richmond Rd in Clive.
It is expected the strawberry farm will create about 15 permanent jobs in the future, and RSE workers have been helping with the planting of crops at 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 New Zealand market.
“Fresh strawberries are imported mainly for commercial use, such as confectionery production, from summer to autumn when production in Japan is low,” he said.
“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.”
