Colombian packinghouse paves way for La Dona limes to the U.S.
La Dona Fruit has opened a packinghouse in northern Colombia, opening an export channel for sending limes to the U.S. and other countries.
The Valle Verde packinghouse, in Apartadó, Antioquia, also has cold storage for Tahiti (Persian) limes, which are shipped to the U.S., and the Caribbean to complement existing business in Europe, according to a news release.
Company officials are celebrating the opening of the 16,600-square-foot facility on Oct. 15. A live video of the ceremony starts at 9 a.m. Central. Officials in attendance include the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, according to a news release.
With the facility, La Dona Fruit has an objective to be the largest lime exporter in Colombia.
The facility, managed by ag investment management company Farmfolio, has infrared sorting, along with sanitizing, drying and waxing capabilities.
The packinghouse is dedicated to limes; other facilities on Colombia that packs lime is an avocado packer first, according to Dax Cooke, Farmfolio’s founder and La Dona’s head of global marketing and sales.
Oscar Baracaldo, head of customer experience for La Dona, said the facility is in Colombia’s Free Trade Zone, near two ports, easing exports. The packinghouse can process 1,000 tons of limes each month to export, according to the release.
The opening of the Valle Verde facility allows exports to rise, with monthly exports in 2021 tripling in volume to Europe, the U.S. and the Caribbean, according to the release.
“Recently, we firmed up agreements for exports to begin to the U.S.A. in October,” Cooke said in the release. “At the same time, we’re distributing to wholesale markets throughout Europe via our own La Dona channel. Overall, we are shipping 4-6 containers per week to the USA and Europe.”
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