Monday, May 14, 2012

Nicaragua to begin exporting frozen fruits to Florida, Puerto Rico

Frozen Fruit, a fruit processing company of Guatemalan and U.S. origin, recently inaugurated its production plant in Managua, Nicaragua, with the purpose of exporting to the U.S.

The company will begin operations by processing plantain and mango cubes, as well as onion rings, okra, edamame and sweet potatoes, which will be initially exported to Florida, California and Puerto Rico.

The plant is located in the communities of San Francisco Libre and Las Mojarras in Nicaragua, thus contributing to the development of these areas and improving the quality of life of the area’s inhabitants, as it will initially generate 180 direct jobs and benefit 400 families in neighboring communities.

Frozen Fruit S.A., the first company of its kind in Nicaragua, will begin processing approximately 3,500 annual tons of products. The company’s facility, with 1,400 square meters, is equipped with modern technology and complies with national and international quality and sanitary standards.

Investor Fernando Paiz, whose family operate 500 supermarkets in central America, told a Nicaraguan newspaper the plant’s target was to sell 1,700 metric tons (MT) of frozen produce worth US$2.5 million to Puerto Rico, Florida and California.

He said that next year this target would rise to 3,500MT worth  US$7.2 million generating a total of 180 jobs benefiting the El Jicaral and San Francisco Libre communities, the story reported.

In 2011, Nicaragua’s merchandise exports reached US$2,264 million, a 22 percent increase in comparison to the US$1,851 million exported in 2010. Agriculture and forestry exports represented 18.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP) in 2011, with the main export products being meat, coffee and fish.

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