Ciego de Avila, August 24 (RHC)-- Farmers from Ciego de Avila in central Cuba will plant 2,500 hectares of pineapples through the end of 2018, with a view to both domestic consumption and export.

Ciego de Avila used to grow more than 30,000 tons of pineapples up until 1991, when the country's economic crisis hit production, which in 2007 had reached a low 200 tons.  But beginning in 2008, the crop started to recover, assisted by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture.

Severo Rio Ramos, a Panamanian consultant who has been helping Ciego de Avila pineapple farmers with export requirement compliance, said the effort has been paying off. From January to June, the local Agroindustrial de Ceballos company alone was able to ship 823 tons of pineapples to Europe, and the goal is to export 1,200 tons this year, especially to France, Italy, and Spain through Citrico Caribe, a marketer of the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture.

Pineapples in Ciego de Avila is produced under a health license issued by the National Food Institute and endorsed by the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.