It is the third investment project for FoodVentures. The group is also involved in two other partnerships and investments in Georgia and Ukraine. The project near Aktobe is created to serve the growing demand for greenhouse produce in Siberia. "There is a giant demand for vegetables in this region, supermarkets struggle to find produce, simply because there is nothing available. With the right technology and knowledge, we will be able to serve this demand year round", said Dirk Aleven of FoodVentures.
The signing ceremony of the project between FoodVentures' COO Dick de Jong and the local Kazakh partners.
The consortium has bought 40 hectares of land, of which 20 hectares are destined for greenhouses. They plan to build 4 phases of 5 hectare each, with a packing facility located as the center. The have chosen for the Ultra-Clima concept of KUBO. "This system works very good in this area. Thanks to the supplemental lighting, it will enable us to produce a high production year round, no matter the extreme continental climate with extreme cold winters and hot summers."
With gas prices as low as 3 cents per cubic meter, the group has high expectations of the investment. "Unlike other greenhouse growers in the region, we are able to produce good yield according to Dutch standards. The produce is high in demand, which results in good prices. Also marketing wise we are leaps ahead."
The greenhouse will be operated with local employees, but under supervision of FoodVentures' head growers. They have an experienced team of Dutch growers on board who utilize years of technical experience. On this same scheme they have been successfully operating their Georgian and Ukrainian ventures over the past few years.
Aleven: "Also in Ukraine and Georgia we are not sitting still. In Georgia we just became the first Global G.A.P. certified producer in a 1,200 kilometer radius. We also expect to expand this business and add more energy efficient LED lighting to optimize our year round production scheme."
The Dutch entrepreneur is confident for the future too."In the next three years we hope to upscale our three projects to 10 hectare each. The local markets in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS-countries will provide us with more business opportunities in the future."
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Food Ventures
Dirk Aleven