NEWS
Mexifrutas will Establish Modern Fruit Processing Plant in Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast
- The first stage represents a US$20 million investment.
- This new plant will create formal, high-quality jobs for 130 people.
San José, Costa Rica. July 4th, 2019. Mexican company Mexifrutas S.A. of C.V. announced that it will open a modern fruit pulp processing plant in Siquirres, Limón, through its Costa Rican subsidiary Inversiones Corymex MCR, S.A, with an investment of $20 million dollars.
In its first stage, this investment will generate direct and formal employment for more than 130 people living outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GMA).
The company owns 49 acres in Siquirres, where it will establish a processing plant for banana and pineapple pulp, which will have an area of 215,000 square feet. Other 860,0000 square feet will be added for roads, maneuvers yards, green areas, parking, among others.
"This company’s establishment confirms once again the Caribbean’s potential, where we have directed many efforts seeking stability and reactivation to create jobs. We are confident that, with the capabilities of the people of Limón, we’ll have more announcements like this in the future,” said the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado.
The Managing Director of Mexifrutas, Sergio García, said: "Mexifrutas is a Mexican company, with more than 16 years of experience in the pulp industry, with three processing plants in Mexico, it is the largest producer of mango pulp in that country and a worldwide leader. As part of the strategic planning, Mexifrutas Costa Rica is born, looking forward to become a leader in the production of two main tropical products: concentrated and non-concentrated pineapple juice and banana puree in different presentations. We are sure that this new production plant will be the best in Costa Rica and one of the best in the world, with an annual capacity to process 60,000 tons of bananas and up to 90,000 tons of pineapple. This includes the most cutting-edge food processing technology that provides the safety and quality demanded by the market,” he concluded.
The company was attracted by the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) within its strategy to promote and attract investment outside the GMA. It is the result of an institutional effort that began four years ago and currently works with 20 communities, that represent more than 30% of the population. This program promotes the improvement of local competitiveness, fostering a triple-helix model involving local and central government, private enterprise, academia and community leaders from each of the regions.
The plant will have the capacity to process 500 metric tons of pineapple and banana per day.
The Minister of Foreign Trade, Dyalá Jiménez commented: "We celebrate that Mexifrutas’ new plant will be in Siquirres. In the first stage, the company will employ more than 100 people for the plant’s construction. This also creates linkages in transportation and food services, in addition to raw material purchases. On the other hand, once the operation begins, it will generate direct and indirect jobs, all of which promote the progress of the Caribbean region. We appreciate CINDE’s support, and Mexifrutas: thank you for your trust in Costa Rica, especially, in our beautiful Caribbean."
CINDE’s President, Eric Scharf, commented: "As an organization, one of our priorities is to create new jobs outside the GMA. We are very excited about Mexifrutas’ decision to settle in Siquirres, which will have a positive impact on creating employment in the next months. During 2018, CINDE reported that 850 jobs were created outside the GMA and we are willing to have more good news for other regions that are already working on improving their local competitiveness”.
The company will be recruiting personnel in the upcoming months. Those interested may apply by sending an email to the human resources department to lmejia@mexifrutas.com and recepcion@corymex.com. There will also be job fairs to recruit staff with support from the Municipality of Siquirres.
The company plans to create more jobs in future stages. During the construction phase, it will also generate 270 temporary direct jobs.
For more press information:
Carlos Morales
CINDE
cmorales@cinde.org
