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Costa Rica: Orange juice production and trade
Costa Rica’s orange production is mostly in the northern part of the Alajuela provinc, and near the Nicaraguan border. Ticofrut and Del Oro are the main producers and own many orange groves as well as competing for the production the other 4000 independent growers. Oranges from Nicaragua, are transported..... 0 comments

Growers of Cuban Rare Fruit celebrate 15th festival
Cuban farmers that grow Guayabita del Pinar, a rare fruit from which a famous local rum is made, celebrated its 15th festival after recording an excellent harvest this past 2009.The forecast for 2009 was to harvest 6,890 pounds of the guava-like tiny fruit, but the outcome surpassed the 10,000 pounds, one..... 0 comments

Giumarra Borques asparagus production begins in Mexico
Giumarra Borquez LLC announces the start of its asparagus season in Caborca, Mexico. The division is based in Escondido, Calif. and markets asparagus year round from Mexico, Chile, Peru and California to the North American market.“We are excited to begin shipping high quality product in good volume out of..... 0 comments

Bahamas: HPH staff members receive long service awards
The HR Department of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group of companies in the Bahamas recognized 81 employees for their many years of service at a special luncheon at the Freeport Harbour Convention Centre on 16 January.In total, 57 employees of Freeport Container Port (FCP), six staff members of..... 0 comments

Export Costa Rica melon season started
The melon export season has started in Costa Rica. The melons are of excellent quality have a high brix level.Because of a special soil treatment called solarisation, and in combination with the ideal climate, the Yellow melon is already available from Costa Rica.There are good expectations for the quality..... 0 comments

Mexico: Less citrus, but more expensive
Crops severely affected by low temperatures in San Luis Potosi will cause shortages in coming days, which will mean that prices of products such as citrus and vegetables will increase significantly.Miguel Angel Tiscareño Iracheta, director of the Faculty of Agronomy of the Universidad Autonoma de San Luis..... 0 comments

Belize: Citrus industry hijack, claims CGA
The Chief Executive Officer of the Citrus Growers Association (CGA), Henry Anderson, today told Amandala that there is a move afoot, orchestrated by Dr. Henry Canton, the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL), to undermine their 51% stake in CPBL and send..... 0 comments

YottaMark Expands HarvestMark Operations in Mexico
New packaging relationships, and in-country sales and support team through partnership with AgroSupport of Mexico, brings traceability resources to Mexican grower/shippersYottaMark, Inc., the leader in traceability and authentication solutions, today announced that it has expanded its sales and support team..... 0 comments

Houston's port has a Cuba connection
For the first time in nearly half a century, a shipping line will provide weekly transport from Houston's docks to Cuba. Local officials view this as the beginning of increased exports to a Latin American nation that still faces a partial trade embargo with the U.S.“What we're witnessing is the important first..... 0 comments

Cuba: Tomato harvest began in Ciego de Ávila province
The industrial processing of tomato this year started at the Majagua preserves factory in the central province of Ciego de Ávila, since that unit was the one showing the best results during the last milling season.Osmar Méndez de la Fe, the national director of vegetable crops of the Ministry of Agriculture,..... 0 comments

A Grāpple a day
Grāpple brand apples popular in Mexico
There was a time when a good, crunchy apple was a rarity in Morelia. This year’s been marked by a bumper crop of apple imports, and that’s made us happy campers in our cold, unheated central Mexican homes where we have to go outside just to get warm.Saturday’s trip to Soriana’s retail store yielded up..... 0 comments

Mexico’s peso advances on speculation currency is undervalued
Mexico’s peso rose for the first time this week on speculation the currency is undervalued relative to the nation’s economic growth prospects.Short-term speculators “are on the bullish side of the peso,” said Marjorie Hernandez, an economist with HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York. “One of the most..... 0 comments

Avocados from Mexico execute extensive marketing program to support volume and increase market demand
Avocado movement to be strong during one of the top promotional periods of the yearThe Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Michoacán (APEAM) are projecting that more than 92 million pounds of Avocados from Mexico will reach the US market in the first 5 weeks of 2010. To support volume and..... 0 comments

Jamaica: Increased agricultural imports worrying - JAS
The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) is raising concern about what it says are increased levels of importation of agricultural produce.The organisation is especially troubled by what it says is a jump in the importation of juice concentrates, including orange and plum juice concentrate from..... 0 comments

Bahamas' US imports grow 16% per year
The Bahamas' imports from the US grew at a 16 per cent annual rate between 2001 and 2008, data produced by the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) has revealed, with this nation accounting for around 25 per cent of the region's US import bill in 2008.A CRNM document, describing the Bahamas as..... 0 comments

Jamaica ministry gets $35 million to construct greenhouses and provide training
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has received $35 million from the Government of Spain, to fund the construction of two greenhouses to promote protected agriculture, and to train extension officers and farmers from across the Caribbean region.The money will go to the Centre of Excellence for..... 0 comments

Panama to intensify export activity in 2010
The recovery of the export activity is today one of the priotities of the Panamanian economy for 2010 in order to leave behind the adverse effects caused by the international financial crisis.According to estimates of Panama's Exporters Association (APEX), the fall in exports last year might reach 40..... 0 comments

Citrus up 9.1 percent at 427,500 tonnes in 2009
Cuban citrus turns corner after decade of decline
Cuban citrus production increased 9.1 percent in 2009, the government reported over the weekend, the first increase in a decade that saw storms, plague and disease decimate the once robust agricultural sector.Citrus output was 427,500 tonnes, compared with 391,800 tonnes in 2008, the National Statistics office..... 0 comments

Mexico GDP growth to be curbed by faster inflation
Mexican inflation is poised to jump from a three-year low as the government raises taxes and pushes up gasoline and subway prices, eroding consumers’ purchasing power and cutting into a recovery, according to Actinver SA.Annual inflation will quicken to 4.1 percent in the first quarter and 4.9 percent by the..... 0 comments

Mexico consumer prices increase less than forecast
Mexico’s consumer prices rose less than economists forecast in the first half of December and annual inflation fell to the lowest rate in more than three years as costs declined for vegetables, beef and chicken.Prices climbed 0.25 percent in the first 15 days of the month, the central bank said today on its..... 0 comments

strong growth market for Dutch suppliers
Horticultural sector in Mexico still developing
The horticultural sector in Mexico continues to develop. In addition to the large glass hothouse projects investments in plastic tunnels for the tomato, cucumber and pepper cultivation increase. These investments are often made by unexperienced market gardeners/farmer entrepreneurs. For Dutch companies in..... 0 comments

Mexico:
Growers Union Sofresco exports blackberries
Rodrigo Lopez of Growers Union Sofresco , with blackberries from the state of Michoacan in Mexico, produced between October and May has produced 3 million boxes this season each weighing an approximately 5.6 ounces, making it one of the largest operations of blackberries from Mexico. Sofresco exported to..... 0 comments

Costa Rica: pineapple growers expect recovery in 2010
The industry of pineapple from Costa Rica expects to open markets in the west coast of US during 2010 to recover the current stagnating harvestingFigures show that at the end of 2009, the value of Costa Rican pineapple exports will fall about 1% compared to 2008.In the first 10 months of this year, Costa Rica..... 0 comments

Costa Rican exports down 11 percent from 2008
Keeping pace with the downward economic trend for the year, the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) announced that Costa Rican exports fell 11 percent in comparison to the first 11 months of the year in 2008.According to PROCOMER, exports have generated $7.98 billion in sales this year, which is $998..... 0 comments

Cuba says economy to grow 1.4 pct in 2009
Cuba's economy will grow 1.4 percent this year, the government said on Sunday, falling short of official forecasts and marking the communist-run island's slowest growth rate for at least six years.The Cuban economy is suffering from financing problems that have been compounded by the global economic..... 0 comments

Guatemala: Apple situation and outlook
Apple production in Guatemala is estimated at 22,100 metric tons (MT), for 2008 which is a reduction of only 1.34% from 2007. The U.S. exported US$ 7.2 to Guatemala, making it a major supplier to the central American country. Apple production in Guatemala is stable and is expected to remain so for a few..... 0 comments

Guatemala: San Juan Agroexport attended the PMA and has good prospects for 2010
Emilio Santano from San Juan Agroexport and Legumex, with fresh and processed foods respectively, attended the PMA in Los Angeles. In a very effective way they made new contacts, met with potential new clients and former clients as well as business partners. The savings in these types of events give..... 0 comments

Record production for Mexican avocado
Due to favourable weather conditions and the increased use of phytosanitary programs for pest control, the production of Mexican Hass avocados is predicted to increase to a record breaking 1.18 million MT fir the market year 2009/10. The export of Hass avocado to the US is expected to reach 304,000MT with a..... 0 comments

Mexico: Tons of Marijuana seized before it could get to border
The Mexican Military found the drugs.A semi from the Mexican State of Sinaloa was pulling a trailer that appeared to be full of boxes of watermelon this week. The soldiers stopped the rig as it headed towards the East Calexico Port of Entry. The military in Mexico has been stopping and searching every semi..... 0 comments

Guatemala: Ya Está!, Exports exotic products to ethnic market and emphasizes their demos at Christmas time
Francisco Menendez is the manager of food products Ya Esta! with 5 plants in Guatemala and since 1982, one in Puebla - Mexico, which wascreated for addressing the Latino communities living outside their country. In the U.S. there are a lot of immigrants to whom they can provide many products. In addition there..... 0 comments

Cuba expands urban agriculture to outlaying areas
The upcoming implementation in eastern Las Tunas province of a project that expands urban gardening to outlaying city areas is expected to significantly increase food production. Known as Sub-urban Agriculture, the new project is to be implemented next January in a group of local farms whose extension covers..... 0 comments

Small farmers in the Guatemalan highlands observe new markets and trends
Merlin Montenegro of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters, accompanied a group of vegetable exporters from Guatemala to promote their products at the recent PMA. For producers it is important to understand market trends and to this end attendance at these events is a requirement. One of the most important..... 0 comments

Mexico annual inflation slows below 4% on peso, food
Mexico’s annual inflation slowed to less than 4 percent in November for the first time in almost two years on a strengthening currency and lower costs for fruit and telephone calls.Consumer prices rose 3.86 percent in November from a year earlier, the central bank said today on its Web site, down from 4.5..... 0 comments

Nirvanita La Baja
Mexico: Baby vegetables move from catering markets to retail
Nirvanita La Baja was presented by Daniel Llano at PMA 2009. The company imports all kinds of baby vegetables which are HACCP certified, ensuring safety as well as good practices in agriculture. Their import activity had been going on for over 20 years, when in 1986 they began to export to the U.S. and have..... 0 comments

Mexico: Montalvo Chiles provides to North America all year round
Montalvo Chiles Frescos is head quartered in Monterrey, Mexico and serves as a clearing-house for the U.S. with green pepper, jalapeño, serrano chile and tomatillo. The important thing for Montalvo Chiles is the added value it gives to the supply chain because it can supply the industry throughout the..... 0 comments

Costa Rica sees deflation in November
Consumer prices in Costa Rica fell by 0.16 percent during the month of November, marking the second time in 2009 that the country has experienced deflation. For the year, the inflation rate was at 2.57 percent, the lowest annual consumer price increase since 1972. At this point in time last year, the rate of..... 0 comments

Monteblanco has a wide range of mushroom presentations for all customers
Guillermo Acevez says Monteblanco has over 60 years in the business of mushrooms. Founded by Victor Cano, who presided over the company and who was later succeeded by his son Alfonso Cano on the board which handles 6 farms in Mexico. Monteblanco's main products are white mushrooms (whole, sliced) and brown..... 0 comments

Costa Rica: Price of potato to double in the coming days
The price of potatoes, carrots, onions and sweet peppers are expected to increase as much as 50% for December, a lot less than the 300% increase experienced last December.The increase is an estimate by the Corporación Hortícola Nacional for the holiday season when demand for the products, that are commonly..... 0 comments

Los Monchis sell:
Tomatillo as a typical ingredient of Mexican food
Los Mochis of Sinaloa, Mexico specialize in tomatillo. Raul Mendoza said that his company specializes mainly in "tomatillo pelado” supplying major companies such as Erdes, La Costena and Alimentos del Fuerte. The tomatillo with shell is also among the products they supply the domestic market and..... 0 comments

Cuba: Citrus harvest underway
The processing of grapefruit began at the industrial enterprise of Ceballos town in Ciego de Ávila province. Domingo Escalante Pérez, deputy director of the industrial unit, said fruits come from Cienfuegos, Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila, while the workers of the Avilanian factory do their best to obtain a..... 0 comments

Mexico peso firms on recovery hopes, rate view
Mexico's peso surged to a 13-month high on Thursday on increasing confidence in an economic recovery and bets the central bank will raise interest rates as inflation picks up.The peso firmed 0.62 percent to 12.64 per U.S. dollar, on track to notch its strongest close since Nov. 4, 2008. It pared gains late..... 0 comments

Mexico: Price drops 66% for the export of blackberry
The price of blackberries has dropped up to 66 percent in the foreign market, after the start of the harvest the price of two kilograms (12 Clusters) was 160 pesos, and now the same box only costs 55 pesos.In a brief interview with El Sol de Morelia producers it was noted that the overseas market situation..... 0 comments

Mexico’s central bank raises 2010 inflation forecasts
Mexico’s central bank raised its inflation forecasts for 2010 as income, sales and excise tax increases take effect, which may signal policy makers will increase borrowing costs sooner than analysts forecast.The bank boosted its inflation forecast for the end of 2010 by as much as 1.75 percentage points...... 0 comments

Guatemala:
Frutico experienced in mango, will also try to consolidate their expertise in the Tainung papaya
Frutico is dedicated to the export of tropical fruits, Olaf Rush comments that the company's specialities are the mangoes varieties Tomy Atkins and Ataulfo. With papaya they have had a significant growth in the Tainung variety. This variety has been very well accepted especially this year. "It's incredible..... 0 comments

Jamaica: C’bean countries support banana deal
CariForum trade ministers from CARICOM and the Dominican Republic say they are ready to sign on to the European Union's (EU) proposal to end the long-running banana dispute with Latin America. The announcement was made in Switzerland where trade ministers and officials from CARICOM, joined their counterparts..... 0 comments

Mexico: More than 2 tons of pot found in a veggie shipment
Customs and Border Protection officers found a surprise in among all the bell peppers and cucumbers coming across the border at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales Monday.Hidden in the veggies were more than two tons of marijuana. Officers say the total weight of the shipment was 4,522 pounds.They estimate..... 0 comments