Cuba processes 20 tons of mangoes of the Super Haden variety to export to Russia. Isec Tellería Abreu, deputy director of the Arimao Citrus company, from Cienfuegos, told the official last Sunday caribbean channel that the first shipment will leave Cuban ports the second week of June.
The official assured that the company, located in the municipality of Cumanayagua, already exports to France, but that with Russia they will obtain “higher prices than those we currently reach with the other European market.”
Cítricos Arimao is the only company with exports of Super Haden mango in Cuba, one of the most demanded tropical fruits in the international market. Currently, it manages 900 hectares dedicated to its cultivation, of which only 35 are certified to sell abroad.
Tellería Abreu said that only 15% of the 3,500-ton mango production forecast for this year will be destined for consumption by Cuban households. “It will sell for five pesos a pound,” he said.
The manager explained that a part of the harvest will be used to make puree, which this year will be sent to the European market, particularly to Italy and Spain, in the “tank” modality through an alliance with the mixed company Tropical Boatswain. Around 500 tons will go to the Cienfuegos food industry, for the preparation of pulps or compotes, as well as juices, nectars and jams.
Cítricos Arimao is the only company with exports of Super Haden mango in Cuba, one of the most demanded tropical fruits in the international market
The plant started in 2022 a production line of sheets of dehydrated pineapple, which was soon exported to Russia since December. At the end of that year, the company billed eight million pesos from the sale of mangoes, charcoal and habanero peppers (chili peppers), as well as 900,000 in freely convertible currency (MLC).
The Cuban Government allocates the fruits considered select for export and tourist establishments. The official press spreads the news of the commercial agreements with hype and cymbal, but not all of them end up materializing.
In 2020, the authorities celebrated that the company Frutas Selectas became the first private producer in Cuba to export lemons to Spain by a farmer. On that occasion, this newspaper verified that the product had not appeared in the Spanish markets.
In other regions, the fruit ends up rotting due to a lack of logistics and support for producers, as happened in 2021 when in Camagüey they were lost. about 80,000 pounds of mango because the state company Acopio was late in collecting the fruit. At that time, the farmers explained that the May rains accelerated ripening, but, after several attempts to call, they only received the order to remove rotten drives.
The Super Haden variety is highly appreciated for its large size, deep orange color, few fibers and a firm consistency that allows it to be used in various recipes or presented cut into flakes, cubes or strips and shaken. It also has a strong shell that makes it easy to transport and a thin seed that allows you to take advantage of almost all the fruit.
The news of the export of fresh mangoes to Russia comes in the midst of Moscow’s rapprochement with the island, unprecedented since the days of the Soviet Union, which began after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. As part of its trade agreements, the Cuban government decided two weeks ago to offer land in usufruct for 30 years to Russian companies to start operations on the island, as well as tax exemptions. In addition, three Russian banks have requested permission to open agencies in Cuba, while the airline Aeroflot will restart commercial flights to the island this June 1st.
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