Multi-national agricultural company Bunge has invested $30 million for further development of a pea protein plant in Winnipeg.
Established in 2019, Merit Functional Foods is building a 94,000 square foot plant to extract protein from peas and canola for plant based meats and beverages.
The plant originally was an estimated $65 million investment but will now cost $150 million.
Along with a minority stake in the Merit plant, Bunge will have the right to supply canola from its four crushing plants.
Merit has an agreement with Nestle to supply protein for Nestle’s plant-based food products.
Co-CEO Ryan Bracken of Merit says the Winnipeg project owes its getting off the ground to federal help of $100 million.
The federal government financed $90 million and provided $9.2 million from Protein Industries Canada.
The plant will eventually produce 150,000 tonnes of protein a year.
Moose Jaw was supposed to be the location of a $50 million pea protein plant with a German investor promoting the project
The German investor was under investigation for fraud when Moose Jaw city council touted a deal. Later, he was jailed for fraud.
Council claimed the German was never vetted by the city as the province referred him but the mayor supposedly hushed the story when the Moose Jaw Times-Herald discovered the fraud investigation.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
