A NEW $60 million fruit, vegetable and flower distribution centre is set to be built in Dandenong, Victoria.
Fresh Plan Pty Ltd chief executive Rod Kerley said the South Eastern Fresh Distribution Centre would be privately funded by a consortium of growers and agents.
It would not be open to the public and he said it was not designed to compete with the wholesale markets, which are being relocated to Epping in 2012.
Mr Kerley said the centre was an attempt to enable retailers and growers to remain competitive in an environment dominated by the two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths.
"An important facet of the facility will be the aggregation service which will ... involve combining stock of fruit and vegetables to match customer orders and be available at a time to suit customer requirements," he said.
Mr Kerley said the first of the centre's three stages was expected to open next year.
Fresh State chief executive officer John Roach said his group, which represents fresh produce wholesalers, was approached with the idea last year.
Mr Roach said no firm details were forthcoming so Fresh State had committed to the relocation of the Melbourne Markets from Footscray to Epping, where work started last month.
Mr Roach expressed concern that the centre might act as a de facto market.
"Central markets work best throughout the world where there is one major central market within a big urban area," he said.
Vegetable Growers Association of Victoria president Luis Gazzola, whose family farms at Somerville, said he fully supported the distribution centre despite the uncertainty of any benefits to growers.
