According to New Zealand's Sunlive, a new packaging plant and four cold storage facilities in Te Puke, southeast of Tauranga, in the country's Bay of Plenty, have recently been put into operation, addressing the concerns of the growing local kiwifruit industry.
It is reported that the packaging plant and cold storage complex cost a total of 40 million New Zealand dollars (about 171 million yuan) and cover an area of 5,400 square meters.The company provides packaging services for Zespri kiwifruit.The new packaging facility will double DMS' packaging capacity in Te Puke.
The new packaging plant uses MAF Roda packaging equipment, one of the largest in New Zealand to date.The equipment can transport kiwi fruit in ten lanes. After the fruit is sent to the most advanced grading center for grading, it will be divided into eight outputs.The ten sorting lines are pre-programmed to Zespri quality specifications.The grading equipment takes 30 photos of each kiwifruit, ensuring grading to the highest quality standards.
In the 2021 season, DMS's two original packaging plants packed a total of 14.2 million cases of kiwifruit, and the new complex will expand production capacity to 17 million cases in the 2022 season.
DMS is the first postharvest company to build a new packaging plant in the Bay of Plenty since 2019, driven by the region's continuing record-breaking kiwifruit production.
The industry expects New Zealand kiwifruit production to reach 190 million boxes in the 2022 season.Fruit production will continue to grow every year as more green and golden fruits are produced.
DMS chief executive Derek Masters said the company expects to increase the total packaging capacity of its Te Puna and Te Puke packaging plants to about 20 million cases over the next few years, in line with the expected increase in production.
"About five years from now, we may be developing a new packaging plant and supporting cold storage in Te Puke to accommodate the growth of the kiwifruit industry."
