Value adding and processing business opportunities in Western Australia have been given a major boost, with the McGowan Government investing $3.1 million in grants to support and encourage capital investment across the State.
The Value Add Agribusiness Investment Attraction Fund initiative received considerable interest, with 23 matching grants awarded to companies from the Kimberley to the South Coast.
Sixteen grants are to invest in expansion, relocation or new value adding production facilities, from a distillery in the Porongorups and meat export facility in Bunbury, to an ice-cream processing facility in Carnarvon and grain sorter for chickpeas in Kununurra.
Another seven grants will assist recipients to undertake investment de-risking activities to expand or establish production facilities, including feasibility for a mobile abattoir in the Pilbara, a single-origin cheese processing facility in the South-West, and a gubinge processing facility in the Kimberley.
The grants are expected to generate more than $12.5 million in total co-investment across a range of industries, and create an estimated 128 jobs in the regions during the next 18 months.
The McGowan Government responded to the very high level of interest in this pilot incentive scheme by allocating an additional $1.6 million to the capital investment grants, reflecting the strong growth in WA’s agrifood value adding and processing sector.
A full list of grant recipients and further details are available at https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/VAAIAFrecipients
As stated by Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan:
“Capturing more value from our primary industries is absolutely critical to our Government’s plan to drive job growth across regional WA.
“The fantastic response to this program highlights the number of value adding businesses throughout the State that are looking to invest, expand and capture new market opportunities across Australia and the world.
“This investment will help value adding and processing businesses to step up to the next level and expand investment to build competitiveness, adopt new technologies, diversify and grow their enterprises.
“It will mean our local businesses can grow and compete for opportunities from interstate and in international markets, which in turn supports diversification across the economy.”
