An expansion-minded company growing organic cranberries in northeastern Quebec’s Saguenay region has picked up just under $250,000 in federal loans for new equipment and plant cuttings.
Atocas Mistassini plans to use the $249,735 in repayable funds for new equipment and to add another 21 acres to the 35 acres of peat bog surface area where it now harvests organic cranberries.
“The growing popularity of this small red berry provides an ideal opportunity for this small firm to bolster its production in a region that has been severely affected by the forest crisis,” the government said in a release Friday.
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Atocas Mistassini is capitalizing on the rising demand for cranberries in order to expand its operations, said Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, the agency which delivers Community Diversification funding in Quebec.
Through this expansion, the company expects to eventually employ up to 25 more people, along with the 10 it employs now during peak season, the government said.
Of the new jobs, 10 are expected to be created next year.
The project offers “strong potential for wealth creation” in the Maria-Chapdelaine Regional County Municipality, the government said.
