The Hacienda Costa Verde, which is located in Salinas, has shipped a second container of watermelons produced in Puerto Rico to New York and Chicago, said Ricardo Burgos, a representative of Hacienda Costa Verde.
So far this year, they have shipped 5,200 quintals of watermelon in nearly 13 containers, including the one that was exported today.
Currently, Hacienda Costa Verde has 25 strings planted with watermelon of the sentinel variety that they export to the processing plants of the WTRML-WTR Company in New York and Chicago in order to produce watermelon water.
"The watermelons were planted to assess the profitability of planting this product in Puerto Rico in the winter months, so that WTRML-WTR doesn't have to import them from non-American territory," said Burgos.
The Secretary of Agriculture, Myrna Comas, said that the production and sale of fruits, such as watermelon, had increased by 50% between 2011 and 2014, from 68,049 quintals to 102,325 quintals.
"Production in 2013 and in 2014 contributed 2.8 million dollars to the country's agricultural gross income. Hacienda Costa Verde has been one of the companies benefited by this initiative. They worked together with the Department of Agriculture and reached a production and sales agreement with the WTRML-WTR Company. The companies invested more than $6,000 dollars per acre to establish the crops," she said.
According to the official, Puerto Rico has recently sent samples of the watermelons harvested in Guanica to the WTRM WTR laboratories so they can be tested to determine if they meet their requirements so as to expand plantings by 20%.
Source: metro.pr
