Lockyer Valley Foods secure land for $400m cannery

An ambitious 15 year project aimed at giving regional Qld fruit and vegetable farmers a cannery and food processing factory has reached a significant milestone – but storm clouds still lie ahead.

Lockyer Valley Foods has announced the purchase of a 55ha property in Withcott which will be the site of a $400 million food processing and cannery factory. Supporters of the Coop in back row, Sue and Mal McIlwraith, Katie Barron, Jill Van Stone and Patrick Mulhare with Lockyer Valley Foods CEO Colin Dorber and Lockyer Valley Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative director Andy Moore. Picture: Christine Schindler

Lockyer Valley Foods has announced a milestone of a fully self-sustained $400m cannery equipped with state-of-the-art food processing works with build works to start as early as February.

The project is hoping to convince farmers to remain in the fruit and vegetable industry, after Ausveg, a leading growers organisation revealed a third of Queensland vegetable farmers were considering abandoning the sector.

On Tuesday, Lockyer Valley Foods CEO Colin Dorber announced the purchase of the 55ha property off the Warrego Hwy in Withcott, which, once complete, would bring in an estimated 500 jobs to the region.

But the stormy weather ahead for this organisation is not the natural kind, but rather in securing reliable long-term funding that has come with many challenges.

Fifteen years ago, Mr Dorber said he made a promise to the beetroot and pineapple growers of Queensland that they would have their own cannery as Heinz had recently bought Golden Circle.

Lockyer Valley Foods has announced the purchase of a 55ha property in Withcott which will be the site of a $400 million food processing and cannery factory. Lockyer Valley Foods CEO Colin Dorber and Lockyer Valley Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative director Andy Moore. Picture: Christine Schindler

Now, after many challenges, the Lockyer Valley Food project finally secured the property and is ready to start construction in line with the approved development application.

“We have operational works ready to start,” he said.

A similar announcement was made to the media in 2023 by Mr Dorber, with the aim to be operational sometime in 2026.

The project had “lost five years” due to the inability to secure state approved access to a site at Grantham and the death of Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones, he said.

They also had to “spend a fortune” overseas chasing Chinese companies ultimately ending in investment deals that fell through, he said.

“That’s when we realised if we were going to have a future, we have to bring Australians on board,” he said.

“We have 630 members now and a target of 20,000 Australians, particularly Queenslanders, who will invest $1000 for a lifetime membership,” Mr Drober said.

“The goal is to try and deliver Australian majority ownership of the cannery.”

In the last two years they have had a “big pivot” and set up a cooperative that’s “functioning wonderfully” and restructured the company, he said.

“We’ve got a couple of early revenue initiatives that will come on site, but we’re full steam ahead.”

“All we got to do now is raise about 100 million dollars,” he said.

Half of that he said, hopes will come with federal funding from the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, and a matching partner.

The cannery itself is expected to be 100 per cent off-grid self-sustained operation, supplied by a methane power plant run upon green waste.

The Lockyer Valley farmers are no strangers to turbulent weather after the 2011 floods killed 19 people and left multiple homes damaged.

Floods of 2022 left crops rotting in the ground, and in 2023, a severe hailstorm destroyed an estimated $30m loss crops and $20m worth of infrastructure.