U.S. produce company Chiquita Brands International (NYSE: CQB) is set to consolidate its position as the largest exporter of bananas from Guatemala, after completing a US$30 million project to expand and renovate port facilities at Terminal Ferroviaria de Puerto Barrios.

Chiquita's corporate responsibility officer Manuel Rodriguez

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina was in attendance at the launch yesterday for new facilities that will be key for Chiquita in its new U.S.-Gulf shipping rotation with larger, more efficient vessels.

In a release, Chiquita said Puerto Barrios was one of the main customers for its Guatemalan subsidiary COBIGUA, with imports and exports of more than 125,000 containers of fresh fruit, refrigerated and dry cargo, and other goods each year.

"For more than 100 years Puerto Barrios has been a strategic point of embarkation and entry for Chiquita and Guatemala," said Chiquita president Ed Lonergan.

"We are particularly excited about the enhanced levels of service to our Chiquita and Great White Fleet customers that will result from this investment in expanded capacity, and the economic opportunities that this will generate for the local community."

Chiquita recognized the Puerto Barrios team as leaders in employee workplace safety, after it celebrated its fifth one million work hours without a loss time incident, or 1,767 days in five years without an employee injury.

"Sustainability and safety commitments such as this are embedded in Chiquita's Purpose and Core Values. Puerto Barrios is an elite Chiquita team and demonstrates our commitment to safeguard the health and safety of our employees," Lonergan said.

"Our target is zero occupational health and safety incidents in our operations and we congratulate Puerto Barrios on their achievement."

Chiquita's corporate responsibility officer Manuel Rodriguez, who represented the multinational at the event, said the company was honored to contribute to Guatemala's continued development.

"Our Company is committed to the well-being of Guatemala and its people and this motivates our corporate social responsibility work to protect the environment, respect the rights of labor and develop initiatives to improve lives in all the communities in which we operate," Rodriguez said.

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