trabaninoscar@yahoo.com
8/22/2006 8:00:00 PM
By Marc Frank --
HAVANA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Cuba's largest citrus orchard expects
output at near capacity of 600,000 tonnes of oranges and grapefruit
during the 2006-2007 harvest, following a difficult prior season due
to a hurricane and drought, official radio reported at the weekend.
Radio Rebelde said on Saturday the 23,000 hectares state-run Jaguey
Grande orchard, the largest contiguous planting of citrus trees in
the world, "at this moment has a yield of 25 tonnes per hectare, the
highest in the country," for an estimated final output of 575,000
tonnes by the time picking ends in June.
Output at the orchard in western Matanzas province fell by at least
50 percent last season when Hurricane Dennis in early July downed the
ripening grapefruit and also damaged orange groves.
Cuba reported total 2005 output of 155,650 tonnes of grapefruit and
342,431 of Valencia oranges, compared with 225,000 tonnes and 495,000
tonnes respectively in 2004.
Some 80 percent of the crop is processed into juice by five plants
across the country, 5 percent exported fresh and sold to the tourism
industry, and the rest used for domestic consumption, the Agriculture
Ministry reported.
The Jaguey Grande orchard, just east of Havana, accounts for around
60 percent of Cuba's citrus crop and 70 to 80 percent of all
citrus-related exports.
The Heroes de Giron citrus plant was also damaged by category-four
Dennis, but has since been repaired and improved, Radio Rebelde said.
"The plant has undergone a process of investment to improve
efficiency and increase capacity to 2,000 tonnes per day," the report
said.
The picking season runs from late August through June, with
grapefruit harvested into December and oranges after that.
While no recent figures were available, Jaguey Grande reported
exporting 19,500 tonnes of fresh fruit in 2003/2004, with the
remainder processed into 39,000 tonnes of concentrate and 600 tonnes
of extract.
Israeli-based investors, operating through the Panama-based BM Group,
have a 50 percent interest in the Heroes de Giron citrus plant and
provide financing for the crop.
The government reported there were 30,711 hectares dedicated to
oranges across the country and 20,809 hectares to grapefruit. Citrus
products are the country's second agricultural export after tobacco,
earning close to $100 million. Fresh fruit and concentrate go mainly
to Europe as they are banned from the United States under the
embargo.
Cuba ranked third in world grapefruit production in 2004, following
the United States and Israel and although exact production figures
are unavailable, it is likely that Cuba in 2004 was the second
largest grapefruit juice producing country in the world, following
the United States.