A $55 million state-of-the-art processing facility in Shepparton, Victoria, will employ more than 1300 people over five years, while ensuring apples and pears don’t go to waste.

The FRUITCo project includes a $15million investment from the Federal Government and further investment from fruit processing business Geoffrey Thompson. Company director Peter Thompson said the new technology would revolutionise the packing process, and increase returns from the farm gate to fruit growers supplying domestic and export markets: ‘‘We hope to place orders imminently and hope to have first deliveries mid next year.”

Federal Member for Murray Damian Drum said the investment would help address a loss of competitiveness on the world stage due to pack house abilities, with other countries ‘light years ahead’. ‘‘Every piece of fruit, through a highly sophisticated packing and sorting arrangement, is going to find its way to its highest potential value.

‘‘We’re actually going to find people who might be growing fruit juice or might be going for pulp have an incredible bumper crop of beautiful fruit that might be out of use for fresh higher values.’’