The €49mn project is set to double the French group’s fruit ripening capacity by the end of 2027
France’s Omer-Decugis & Cie is partnering with Rungis International Market operator Semmaris to develop a 25,000m² fruit logistics platform at the port of Dunkirk.
The €49mn project is set to double the group’s ripening capacity by the end of 2027, according to a statement from the company.
The development will include storage, packaging, ripening and fruit preparation facilities, strengthening Omer-Decugis’ distribution network across France and northern Europe.
Semmaris will invest €37mm in the property, while Omer-Decugis will spend a further €10mn-€12mn on technical installations and equipment.
The project forms part of Omer-Decugis’ strategic plan for 2025-2030 and represents the first concrete development arising from an agreement signed in July 2026 between Semmaris and the Port of Dunkirk to establish an agri-logistics hub linking Dunkirk with Paris’s Rungis wholesale market.
The new site will increase the group’s ripening capacity for bananas, mangoes and avocados from 174,000 tonnes to 324,000 tonnes when it opens at the end of 2027.
It will feature 55 ripening rooms, with the capacity to handle more than 200,000 boxes per week, alongside temperature-controlled storage for 4,000 pallets and bespoke packaging facilities.
The platform will complement Omer-Decugis’ existing sites in Rungis and Sorgues, creating what the company expects to become France’s leading fruit ripening network.
“The Dunkirk site will create France’s leading fruit ripening network,” said Vincent Omer-Decugis, chairman and chief executive of Omer-Decugis & Cie. “This key infrastructure will support our ambition to double our volumes while consolidating French agri-food sovereignty and resilience to serve the European market.”
The development will also include a 6,000m² fresh-cut fruit facility, supporting the group’s diversification into a category benefiting from demand for convenience and on-the-go consumption.
Through its partnership with PrepWorld, a subsidiary of BerryWorld, Omer-Decugis expects the facility to supply nearly 60mn fruit packs to the French market each year.
The group said the location offered logistical advantages for imported fresh produce, including temperature-controlled infrastructure at the Terminal des Flandres, customs and phytosanitary services on site, and connections to road, rail and inland waterways. These facilities help to speed up the handling and onward transport of fruit while helping preserve freshness and quality.
Stéphane Layani, president of the Rungis International Market, said the project would help decarbonise supply flows, strengthen food sovereignty and secure supplies for the market.
Emmanuelle Verger, chair of the supervisory board of the Port of Dunkirk, commented: “Dunkerque-Port is delighted with this partnership, which reinforces our ambition to
make Dunkirk a reference centre in the agri-food sector. This new platform is the result of a collective dynamic driven by the entire port ecosystem. It will generate new flows, jobs and attractiveness, combining logistics performance, decarbonisation and food sovereignty.”
