Fresh Del Monte enters row crop business to help bottom line and feed world
Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fresh Del Monte, a vertically integrated grower and marketer of fruits and vegetables, is entering the row-crop business.
The company is seeking to help global concerns over food shortages and optimize the company’s assets, according to a news release.
The row crops, including white corn, will be grown on the company’s resting lands, between its core crop seasons.
The company has started its row crop expansion project with white corn in Guatemala, set to be harvested in July. Fresh Del Monte is also evaluating hundreds of additional acres that go through resting periods for additional crop rotation opportunities, according to the release
“We, as a company, are large-scale farmers, and we’re also big on asset optimization and thinking outside the box when it comes to leveraging all our assets,” Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte’s chairman and CEO, said in the release. “Growing row crops is an excellent way for Fresh Del Monte to leverage its idle lands. The benefits are multifold. Not only do we become a bigger part of the global food shortage solution, but we also better prepare our grounds for the following core seasons. We also generate an additional stream of income by producing short-rotation row crops.”
Venturing into crops such as corn and sugarcane brings several advantages to Fresh Del Monte, according to the release:
- Economic profits to the company with the production of new crops;
- Contributing to maintaining the biological balance between beneficial and harmful pests;
- Crop rotation reduces the incidence of soil pests, creating a favorable environment for sustainable core crop production;
- Optimizing available land while contributing to the world’s grain shortage; and
- Generating a source of employment with the production of alternate crops between core crop seasons, such as pineapple, banana and melon, to name a few.
