Firm's trade mushrooms

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 2

Firm's trade mushrooms

Meadow Mushrooms, Ltd, of Prebbleton, which is believed to be the largest producer of mushrooms in New Zealand, and possibly Australia, is expanding its productive capacity 40 to 50 per cent to supply the New Zealand market. The chairman of directors, j Mr P. R. Burdon, said last; week that since the factory, at Prebbleton was established 3| years ago, output had increased five times. The company now supplies auction floors from Auckland to Bluff, and exports more than two tons a week to Aus-: tralia and the Pacific Basin,; and as far north as Hong, Kong. A significant part of itsj production is processed and!

,Isold in canned or dehydrated form by a number of food’ ' processors. The company also; ‘ has its own dehydration faci-, lities. The firm’s output of mush-1 , rooms is now more than a, million pounds a year, worth, ' about $750,000. 1 The company employs | i about 100 people, of whom; most are women, including some farmers’ wives. MECHANISATION I Extensions to the com-; pany’s factory, including the I installation of machinery! worth $lOO,OOO to mechanise: production, will be officially; /opened by the National i Party’s spokesman on horti- , culture, Mr R. L. G. Talbot, (Son November 1. Mr Burdon said that the

I extensions should provide for the local market — which; i had shown considerable , growth — for the next four ior five years. Loan finance for part of J the expansion has been made available by the Development ; Finance Corporation. SCHEME PRAISED Mr Burdon regards the Rural Banking and Finance j Corporation’s scheme for susIpensory loans for enccuragejment of exports of non?traditional horticultural and /agricultural products as “far-; s| sighted and imaginative” and ■ “the first positive acknowI

ledgment of the benefits that ;New Zealand can derive from these ventures.” Meadow Mushrooms, whose shareholders are all New Zealanders, is part of a j private group which also v trades in Cyprus. . s Mr Burdon has just re- I turned from Cyprus where, e he said, the Turkish invasion had forced the business to j close temporarily. The firm’s 1 premises had been turned 1 into a forward command post for the Turkish forces over- t looking Nicosia airport. Many < of the Greek Cypriot staff ; ■were not accounted for, 11