Fresh Del Monte is poised to sign an agreement with logistics and stevedore company Logistec to construct a 200,000ft2 chilled warehouse at Florida’s Port Manatee that would significantly boost the multinational’s presence at the port.
Del Monte has been at the port for 20 years, importing pineapples, bananas and melons from Costa Rica into its packing and processing facility in preparation for distribution to US supermarkets. It currently stores its produce at a 58,000ft2 warehouse, making the Manatee Del Monte’s second largest US port facility.
The agreement would make Logistec the private partner in the US$24.6m facility, with the company paying approximately half of the construction costs and the Florida Department of Transportation paying the other 50 per cent.
Logistec’s director of operations at the port, André Dubois, said the two companies have not yet reached a deal, but discussions are ongoing and he hoped to have something in place by the first quarter of the year.
