Panasonic starts trial operation of vegetable factory in Singapore
The Japanese electronics giant controls the amount of light and temperatures at the plant with cutting-edge technologies, with an eye to providing burdock and other fresh root vegetables to local school meal and boxed lunch businesses, the sources said.
Panasonic has been putting focus on the agricultural business and tapping the Asian market. If sales get on a solid track, the company plans to manufacture the production system for vegetables at the plant and sell it to Southeast Asian companies, targeting sales of more than 10 billion yen, according to the sources.
Singapore imports most vegetables from Malaysia and other countries due to the city-state's relatively small land area so Panasonic judged it can expect huge demand for locally produced fresh vegetables.
The vegetable factory is operated by Panasonic's in-house company Automotive & Industrial Systems Company, which has expertise in automation of electronic parts attachment. It plans to utilize its techniques for automatically controlling the amount of light and temperatures for growing vegetables, the sources said.
In Japan, Panasonic developed a greenhouse for growing spinach, where it can automatically adjust temperatures and humidity. The company sells the house for agricultural corporations aiming to operate on a large scale.
In the city of Fukushima, northeastern Japan, the company produces lettuce with low potassium in a part of a digital camera plant.
Source: globalpost.com