was the largest independent almond orchard in Australia. In 2008, Select Harvests secured 4,300 acres on the Dandaragan Plateau in Western Australia. In early 2013, Select Harvests decided to exit the Dandaragan Almond project, placing its immature orchards, water rights and associated irrigation infrastructure on market for sale. In December 2015, Select Harvests announced that it would sell its WA orchards and land to an unnamed private Australian business for A$9.5 million after almost A$60 million of write-downs. Select Harvests is one of Australia's largest almond exporters and has continued to expand in the fast-growing markets of India and China, as well as established routes to markets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Processing Select Harvests has significant almond processing capability which is delivered through its two almonds processing plants, both located in Victoria, Australia. Thomastown The first plant is located in Thomastown, Victoria. Since 2002 it has also been the location of the Select Harvests head office. The site consists of corporate offices, a production facility, laboratory and warehouse; it employs around 54 permanent staff, and 70–140 seasonal production staff. The plant annually produces approximately 13,000 metric tonnes of a range of packaged nuts and associated products. Carina West The second plant is located in vicinity of Carina West, which has a hulling and shelling capacity of 22,000t (6 months) or 10t per hour at peak. The Carina West plant was commissioned in 2008 at a cost of A$40 million, it also has significant storage, sorting, packing, warehousing and fumigation facilities. Select Harvests produces almond products according to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, hazard analysis and critical control points, Global Food Safety Initiative (SQF2000), halal and kosher certifications. In 2015, Select Harvests was awarded a A$1.5 million grant towards the construction of a biomass electricity co-generation plant and almond production line at its processing plant in Carina West. The project will install a biomass boiler and steam turbine plant, fuelled by almond and orchard waste products, and converting it to heat and power, with excess fed into the electricity grid. It is estimated to consume 30,000 metric tonnes of almond and orchard waste and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions for the company by more than 23,500 tonnes. References External links Official website Companies based in Melbourne Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Almond production