Marubeni announced the conclusion of a Japanese Strawberry Greenhouse Project contract with Russian company VE Group. The design and supply for the greenhouse will be conducted by JFE Engineering.
In accordance with recent increasing demand for high quality strawberries in the Russian market, VE Group has a plan to build a greenhouse for the production of Japanese strawberries in Victoria Industrial Park, a property owned by VE Group in Elektrostal City, which is a suburban area of Moscow. The project is scheduled to be scaled-up from 10 ha initially to 30 ha upon completion. The first phase of the Project will involve the supply of equipment for the initial 10 ha by Marubeni and JFE Engineering.
Furthermore, the Moscow regional government has decided to provide the Project with government subsidy funding, as the project’s high potential to promote job creation and economic development in Russia is expected to contribute greatly to Russian society. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has also selected this project for subsidy as it falls under the category of “Japanese food industry global operational presence”.
Although the greenhouse business is a relatively new field for Marubeni, it is nevertheless one of the most valuable because it enables the stable provision of food regardless of the effects of climate change. In particular, the project’s stable supply of Japanese strawberries would accelerate the diversification of Russia’s food culture and also promote the Japanese brand as it makes its foray into the global market. Marubeni, as a contractor, will contribute to the project by applying its experience in the field of global plant construction and procurement.
Since 2014, JFE Engineering has been operating greenhouses in Tomakomai and Sapporo in Hokkaido. JFE Engineering has applied its own proprietary technology to these greenhouses which have been producing high-value-added crops as a result. At the request of VE Group, JFE Engineering will leverage their experience and knowledge in the greenhouse business to provide cultivation training services for the project after the completion of the initial 10 ha in 2021.
Marubeni and JFE Engineering consider this the first step in their collaboration to spread high-value-added Japanese cultivation technology across Russia, CIS countries and the rest of the world, thereby contributing to the development of regional and global economies.
For more information:
JFE Engineering
www.jfe-eng.co.jp