Kingsville, ON – Mastronardi Produce is eyeing a new market in which to develop clusters of controlled agriculture partnerships and facilities, in its continued efforts to advance sustainable methods that meet the growing demand for fresh produce. The first of such endeavors includes an agreement with the investment firm AgriCapital Holdings Corp. to support the development of a new Agropark in Panama.
“There is no question that we need to address the growing concern of food insecurity, and Controlled Environment Agriculture is a prime solution that is poised for rapid growth,” says Dean Taylor, Vice President of Business Development for Mastronardi Produce Ltd. “As leaders in the industry, we are continuously looking for opportunities to deliver more, sustainably-grown produce to people in an efficient way. That includes finding new markets and helping them develop with our support.”
AgriCapital will leverage Mastronardi’s knowledge and expertise for the new Agropark Panama, which aims to be the first 100% clean energy agrologistics park in the world. The goal of the agropark is to provide state of the art infrastructure for farms that want to expand their growing operations but are confronting increasing limitations in the availability of labor for their Controlled Environment Agriculture operations. The project also will help expand job creation in the rural areas of Panama and Central America.
“We could not find a better advisor and ally for our project” said Juan Carlos Mastellari, Managing Partner of AgriCapital Holdings. “We admire the Mastronardi team and the magic they have done with the Sunset brand.”
The company believes Panama is a market that is well set-up to deliver on growth expectations. Its geographic location, including the Panama Canal’s Connectivity platform, means that goods can reach major markets within 4 days by sea, and as one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America, it is already moving a large number of goods to the U.S. including bananas and pineapples.
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About Mastronardi Produce Ltd.®
A pioneer and industry leader in the gourmet greenhouse industry, Mastronardi Produce grows and markets nationally recognized products under the SUNSET®, Backyard Farms®, BerryWorld® and Queen of Greens® brands, including Campari®, Flavor Bombs®, and Angel Sweet® tomatoes. Mastronardi Produce has been family-owned for over 70 years and prides itself on producing consistently flavorful gourmet tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce and berries.
To learn more about Mastronardi Produce, visit sunsetgrown.com or read our past releases.
About AgriCapital Holdings Corp.
AHC is a business development and investment firm based in Panama that has attracted the attention of leading private and multilateral investors and other strategic allies from the region to invest in agro tech and agro logistic assets. AgroPark Panama will be a high tech controlled environment agriculture asset that aims to become a strategically located part of the solution for the global food challenges facing our world in the next 30 years.
