Work has begun this week on a £9 million cold storage and packhouse expansion at Kent top-fruit grower AC Goatham & Son that will nearly double the company’s capacity.
The initial stages will clear Flanders Farm, in Hoo, of redundant orchards ready to be replaced with high-yielding growing systems.
Along with more trees planted per hectare, the new growing system means trees are trained to grow taller using a frame system. Trees are also pruned annually to ensure more growth goes into the production of the fruit, rather than the tree itself.
Partner at AC Goatham, Ross Goatham, hailed the expansion as positive news not just for Medway and Kent, but for the UK as a whole. “This expansion will also provide more seasonal jobs requiring a variety of skills,” he said.
“To successfully compete with overseas growers, the UK fruit industry has had to change significantly in recent years. Essentially we need to grow more fruit per hectare, which is of a consistent quality and which can be successfully stored for longer to increase the length of the season in the supermarkets.
“We are delighted work has begun and beginning to remove the old trees now the harvest has finished, is the first step. We anticipate the new buildings will be ready to use for the 2016 growing season.
“Since 2012 we have been planting a significant number of new orchards and by 2020 we will have planted in excess of 1 million new fruit trees. The trees take three to five years to reach their full yield, so it is important we stay one step ahead of this process to ensure we have both sufficient cold storage and packing facilities.”
Goatham said the new cold storage technology will allow the company to extend the season for British fruit in the supermarkets to around 11 months of the year.
“Since around 2000, the British top fruit industry and businesses like A C Goatham & Son have been steadily growing, thanks to significant programme of innovation and investment,” Goatham added.
“As an industry we are aiming to help increase the overall production of British top fruit to in excess of 60 per cent of that sold in the UK each year. This will provide the UK with a safe and secure food supply for many years to come, which is increasingly important in an ever turbulent world.”
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