Fyffes BB #:111359 has continued to invest in its own banana production in Costa Rica by building a new packhouse at its farm Victoria in Sarapiqui de Heredia, Costa Rica. The new packhouse has been designed to promote employee wellbeing and safety while enabling improved efficiencies and supporting our sustainability targets.
The modern design of the new packhouse minimizes bruising to the fruit, increases packaging capacity through multiple processing lines, reduces water consumption by up to 40%, and improves occupational health by facilitating the palletizing process with two hydraulic tables and anti-fatigue mats in the selection, weighing and packaging areas.
For Fyffes Regional Banana Production Manager, Leslie Medina, this project is a joint effort within Fyffes, capitalizing on knowledge and experience to increase productivity. He acknowledged the support of Fyffes business partners and the performance of the farm management who oversaw construction of the new packhouse and the substantial expansion of hectares.
The inauguration event included the attendance of Fyffes business partners Grupo Acón, Grupo Colono, Jardín del Tigre and the Costa Rican banana authority Corbana (Corporación Bananera Nacional). Fyffes was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Helge Sparsoe, and Chief Supply Officer, Sheila McCann-Morrison, who addressed employees and thanked them for their ongoing contribution to the company.
For his part, Fyffes CEO, Helge Sparsoe, pointed to the company’s value “Winning Together” and explained the importance of collaborating in the long term to face the challenges that the future may bring. “Winning together also includes our communities, our partners and allies because if we don’t work together, we will face many more significant challenges ahead,” Sparsoe said.
Sheila McCann-Morrison spoke about the role of groundbreaking innovation as a fundamental driver to Fyffes ongoing sustainability both within Fyffes owned farms as well as with strategic business partners.
Jorge Sauma, Corbana General Manager, recognized Fyffes as one of the companies that operate in Costa Rica with the most vision for the future and highlighted Fyffes effort to provide good working and safety conditions to its employees.
The new Fyffes packhouse is proof of the banana industry’s commitment to innovation, safety, and sustainability. Investment in technology and equipment demonstrates a desire to continually improve the quality and efficiency of production processes, while the focus on safety ensures that workers are always treated with respect and dignity.
About Victoria Farm
Located at Sarapiqui de Heredia, Costa Rica, Fyffes Victoria banana farm spans over 350 hectares of land and employs 218 people. The fruit is certified by GlobalG.A.P, Rainforest Alliance as well as the SMETA Standard.
About Fyffes
For over 130 years, Fyffes has provided a selection of tropical products to millions of people around the world. We strengthen relations with our producers, support our employees and diligently attend to every link in the chain: production, procurement, transport, maturation, distribution, and marketing, with the aim of achieving the highest quality. This approach has earned Fyffes leadership in several markets: we are the largest importer of Fairtrade-certified bananas in the world, one of the leading importers of bananas and pineapples in Europe, and the largest importer of melons in North America. We joined Sumitomo Corporation in 2017, which kept our industry leadership moving forward in many interesting ways. www.fyffes.com
