Chiquita signs an 11-year lease with the port of Wilmington
Chiquita signs an 11-year lease with the port of Wilmington
Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner announced an 11-year, multi-million dollar land lease between Chiquita Fresh North America and the Diamond State Port Corp. This new 27.6-acre lease will keep Chiquita at the port of Wilmington and in the state of Delaware until July 2019.
Chiquita is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products from energy-rich bananas to nutritious blends of convenient green salads. Globally, Chiquita employs over 23,000 people in more than 70 countries.
"I am very excited about Chiquita's renewed commitment to Delaware's seaport," Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said in a press release. "This long- term lease will secure many well-paying jobs in Delaware, will generate substantial business revenue for our port and our state, and continue to position the First State as the world's leading tropical fruit gateway."
In 2007, Chiquita directed 52 ship-calls to Wilmington, and unloaded and loaded over 45,000 shipping containers. A recent economic impact analysis by Martin & Associates concerning the port of Wilmington credited Chiquita with generating over $21 million in annual business revenue, creating and sustaining 400 stable, well-paying jobs and producing over $1.5 million per year in regional taxes. When extended over the life of this new agreement, Chiquita's economic impact totals over $230 million in business revenue and $16.5 million in regional taxes.
Chiquita moved its East Coast operations to Wilmington in 1988, first with conventional break-bulk ship service and later that year with a weekly containerized banana service from Central America. In the past two decades, not only has Chiquita continued to grow its tropical fruit program in Wilmington, but also has chosen Wilmington as its U.S. East Coast distribution center for Chilean fruit imports.
"We are very pleased with the new long-term lease at the port of Wilmington, Delaware. It will enable Chiquita to continue leveraging Wilmington's superior perishable supply-chain capabilities for the next 11 years," Deverl Maserang, vice president of North America product supply and logistics for Chiquita, said in the press release. "From Wilmington, we can quickly and cost effectively reach key distribution centers as far as Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces of Canada in the north, and in the U.S. as far west as the Mississippi [River] and as far south as North Carolina."
"This is a wonderful day for the port of Wilmington," Eugene R. Bailey, executive director of the DSPC, said in the release. "On behalf of the chairman and DSPC board of directors, the executive staff and men and women working at the port of Wilmington, I would like to congratulate Chiquita on the new lease agreement."
Chiquita is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products from energy-rich bananas to nutritious blends of convenient green salads. Globally, Chiquita employs over 23,000 people in more than 70 countries.
"I am very excited about Chiquita's renewed commitment to Delaware's seaport," Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said in a press release. "This long- term lease will secure many well-paying jobs in Delaware, will generate substantial business revenue for our port and our state, and continue to position the First State as the world's leading tropical fruit gateway."
In 2007, Chiquita directed 52 ship-calls to Wilmington, and unloaded and loaded over 45,000 shipping containers. A recent economic impact analysis by Martin & Associates concerning the port of Wilmington credited Chiquita with generating over $21 million in annual business revenue, creating and sustaining 400 stable, well-paying jobs and producing over $1.5 million per year in regional taxes. When extended over the life of this new agreement, Chiquita's economic impact totals over $230 million in business revenue and $16.5 million in regional taxes.
Chiquita moved its East Coast operations to Wilmington in 1988, first with conventional break-bulk ship service and later that year with a weekly containerized banana service from Central America. In the past two decades, not only has Chiquita continued to grow its tropical fruit program in Wilmington, but also has chosen Wilmington as its U.S. East Coast distribution center for Chilean fruit imports.
"We are very pleased with the new long-term lease at the port of Wilmington, Delaware. It will enable Chiquita to continue leveraging Wilmington's superior perishable supply-chain capabilities for the next 11 years," Deverl Maserang, vice president of North America product supply and logistics for Chiquita, said in the press release. "From Wilmington, we can quickly and cost effectively reach key distribution centers as far as Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces of Canada in the north, and in the U.S. as far west as the Mississippi [River] and as far south as North Carolina."
"This is a wonderful day for the port of Wilmington," Eugene R. Bailey, executive director of the DSPC, said in the release. "On behalf of the chairman and DSPC board of directors, the executive staff and men and women working at the port of Wilmington, I would like to congratulate Chiquita on the new lease agreement."
