In South Africa, we’re approaching mid-winter, and it’s at this time of year that all thoughts turn to food! Here we look at some of the world’s biggest storage spaces, dedicated to storing foodstuffs and agricultural products.
In South Africa, we’re approaching mid-winter, and it’s at this time of year that all thoughts turn to food! Here we look at some of the world’s biggest storage spaces, dedicated to storing foodstuffs and agricultural products.
World’s largest wholesale food market
© photo by Rungis International Market
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the world’s largest wholesale food market is located just 7 kilometres from the world’s gastronomic capital – Paris, France. At the Marché International de Rungis, which operates every day from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m., you’ll find fresh produce and gourmet food of every possible description, being eagerly examined by professional distributors, restaurateurs and chefs.
The Rungis food market spans 573 acres and employs roughly 13,000 people. An average of 26,000 vehicles, many of them heavy trucks, enter the market every single day.
One of the world’s largest fridges
© photo by Partner Logistics
Built by Partner Logistics for potato processing giant, Lamb Weston/Meijer, the fully automated, frozen food warehouse in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire is the largest cold store in the UK. It can store up to 77,000 pallets and is roughly the size of two football fields.
The facility, which used 5,000 tons of steel and cost €50 million to build, stores pallets at a temperature of -24 degrees Celsius.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
© photo by Government.no
Located in the remote Arctic on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and built 120 metres into a sandstone mountain, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault contains the world’s largest collection of seeds. The vault is designed to protect as much of the world’s crop diversity as possible in the event of global or large-scale regional disasters.
It’s estimated that the Svalbard vault has the capacity to store 2.5 billion seeds, protecting up to 4.5 million varieties of crops.
Schapfenmühle Silo
© photo by Richard Mayer
Located near Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany and built in 2005, Schapfenmühle Silo is the tallest storage silo in the world. It has a height of just over 114 metres, or 125 metres if measured to the tip of its antenna.
Until recently, the title of world’s tallest silo was held by another German silo named Henninger Term, in Frankfurt. However, this silo was demolished in 2013.
Senwes Grain Silos
© photo by Piet Stiglingh
The South African town of Wesselsbron is home to the largest silo complex in the Southern Hemisphere. The Senwes grain silos in the town can store a staggering 275,000 tons of grain.
In total, the Senwes network of silos stores close to a third of South Africa’s total yield of corn, sunflower, sorghum, soya beans, winter grain and barley.
Self Storage Space by XtraSpace
At XtraSpace, we don’t provide the world’s largest storage spaces, but we do offer secure, affordable spaces for storing all your personal and business belongings. For more information about our self-storage facilities throughout South Africa, contact us by email or call us on 0861 250 259.