Ceballos Agro-industrial Company had the previous year revenues by more than USD 200 million, thanks to guava processing in small industries.
Such results were due to the production and sale in all provinces and frontier market of five million candy bars made with the fruit, plus juices and mini-doses, all with superior quality.
The number of units sold in CUP amounted to 4,700,000 bars and the rest of the production in CUC was made in the tourism sector, Juan Carlos Mirabal , economic deputy director of the entity, told ACN.
The company involves more than twenty medium factories, where other fruits are also exploited and are a major source of employment.
This initiative is in line with the Guidelines of the 6th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, based on stimulating the reduction of food imports that can be produced efficiently in the country, Wilver Bringas Fernandez, CEO of the company, said.
This work requires hard currency investment in exchange for the purchase of inputs such as containers, citric acid, labels, nylon and wraps, Bringas Fernandez noted.
Of the 8,156 hectares devoted to fruit growing in Ciego de Ávila, nearly 2,000 are of guava, which produces from eight months after planted (interspersed with mango) and receives the Cuban bio-stimulator Fitomas-E, which increases the growth of the two plants.
Guava is highly prized for its content of mineral salts and vitamins, including ascorbic acid (C vitamin), which sometimes exceed 400 milligrams per 100 grams of pulp, according to investigations.
Source: Cuba News Agency