The Pays de la Loire Agricultural Cooperative is investing €15 million for a factory dedicated to packaging and storing quinoa.
To respond to increased demand for its production the Pays de la Loire Agricultural Cooperative(CAPL) is investing €15 million in packaging Quinoa d’Anjou. Ten years ago, the grain-like seed, native to the Andes, first appeared as an agricultural crop in this region in north-western France, which has become the largest European producer of the seed. All together, in 2021, the 400 farmers in the sector harvested 3,500 tons of white, red and black quinoa.
This new, 22,000 m² (237,000 sq. ft.) industrial tool, christened “Perles d’Anjou,” will be partially operational by this summer, so it can handle the 2022 harvest, and it will be fully functional by summer 2023. Its role will be to receive, clean, calibrate, store and bag up to 10,000 tons of seeds, legumes and grains – essentially quinoa, but also chick peas, lentils and buckwheat.
“Trendy with Consumers”
In this way, the cooperative aims to keep stocks available in order to to be able to supply clients regularly.
“Quinoa d’Anjou is one of those products that’s really trendy with consumers,” Christian Blet, who is both the president of the CAPL and a Quinoa d’Anjou producer himself, points out.
“Creating Perles d’Anjou means giving ourselves the means to make this local sector a long-lasting one, and increasing our storage capacity, which is necessary if we want to be able to supply customers all year long.”
The highly mechanized factory will have ten employees. “The state-of-the-art installations and sorting lines will allow for meticulous preparation of the seeds and will guarantee flawless food quality,” he adds. The Quinoa d’Anjou sector supplies about 25% of all the quinoa consumed in France today. Quinoa d’Anjou – of which 30% of production has been certified High Environmental Value – is sold to food manufacturers, specialized boutiques and restaurants.
More about Quinoa in France: France: Europe’s Largest Quinoa Producer