Jealous Fruits’ new cherry packing facility is located just north of the Kelowna International Airport off of Highway 97. (Contributed)

Jealous Fruits’ new cherry packing facility is located just north of the Kelowna International Airport off of Highway 97. (Contributed)

New cherry packing facility to open in Central Okanagan this weekend

Despite a lacklustre cherry crop this year, Jealous Fruits is opening its new state-of-the-art packing facility

  • Jul. 1, 2020 12:00 a.m.

Despite the rain putting this year’s crop in jeopardy, a new state-of-the-art cherry packing facility is opening near Ellison Lake this weekend.

Jealous Fruits’ new facility, just north of the Kelowna International Airport, is slated to begin operations on July 4.

“The new plant is central to our various orchards, logistically accessible for shipping, and has easy customer and staff access,” Jealous Fruits said in a release.

The company acquired the site in 2015 and recently completed construction on the 140,000 square-foot plant.

Jealous Fruits claims the new plant will be able to handle 18 tons of cherries per hour across 28 lanes of sorting equipment. Three cold-storage rooms at the building will be able to hold 550 tons of product, and the facility will also house administrative headquarters, a retail shop and dorms to house 130 staff on-site.

READ MORE: Okanagan cherries in jeopardy due to above-average rainfall

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