A 205-hectare greenhouse farming precinct planned for the outskirts of Wyndham and Melton could present foreign trade opportunities between Victoria and the Netherlands, according to Dutch Deputy Trades Minister Simon Smits.
Mr Smits toured Woodhouse station on Ballan Road, between Wyndham Vale and Eynesbury, last Thursday to gather more information about a development being planned by JAC Land.
The project, which Dutch company JAC Land hopes will be under construction within 12 to 24 months, will comprise a range of greenhouse sites ranging from five to 20 hectares that will grow leafy green vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes and capsicums.
It is predicted the development could produce more than half the quantity of produce now grown at Werribee South, creating about 4000 jobs. Mr Smits said the purpose of last week’s visit was to identity opportunities for Dutch businesses to work with Victorian companies.
JAC Land has based the development on a model rolled out across the Netherlands in the past 30 years.
“We have experience that would benefit our Australian colleagues,” Mr Smits said.
“We have gone through a restructure of our horticulture industry … because there were all kinds of environmental and energy problems.
“Greenhouses yield very high yields of quality foods and that’s what the world needs.”
JAC Land project manager Chris Quinn said the greenhouse development would boost the agricultural industry in Victoria.
“The proposed precinct could replace 60 per cent of the food currently being produced at the Werribee South, an area under continued threat from urban encroachment,” he said.
