Western Australia’s first commercial walnut orchard, Omega Walnuts, will start putting its freshly harvested produce through its new Manjimup production facility today.
Premier Mark McGowan today visited the local family-run business to formally open its new production facility – the third biggest walnut production facility in Australia.
December marks the start of the Christmas processing season where walnuts are cracked and packed to order to maintain their freshness.
Omega Walnuts is expecting to process up to 110 tonnes of premium and organic walnuts in 2018, grown on more than 23,000 trees across 65 hectares in Manjimup and Nannup.
Most of Omega Walnuts’ produce is sold to the local market, however, the WA business intends to further showcase its local produce in parts of Asia and the northern hemisphere.
More than 20 per cent of its Manjimup orchard is dedicated to innovation and agricultural research and development as it looks to expand into walnut oil production next year.