Having made the strategic decision to secure resources and due to the resulting backward integration, Chimaco SA, the Nicaraguan sister of the Swiss company Frutco AG, has succeeded in successfully cultivating 60 ha of organic passion fruit of the genetically protected „Chiamco Variety“ on its 200-ha farm „Gemasteppe“.

In addition, Chimaco SA agronomists manage the company’s own demo plantation, on which contract farmers are trained in the proper and sustainable cultivation and care of the plants in conventional passion fruit cultivation. They support the growers with technical know-how and agricultural expertise throughout the entire duration of the cooperation. Currently, 200 ha of sustainably cultivated fruit (60 ha of which are organic) are available for processing. In the medium term, this will be expanded to approx. 1,000 ha, with the Swiss group guaranteeing to purchase 100 % of the growers’ produce. The area under cultivation will always be a mix of the group’s own farmland and third-party, medium-sized growers. This, together with the company’s own processing of the fruit by Frutco de las Americas SA in Chinandega fully ensures the maintenance of a fully sustainable supply chain and guarantees stable prices over several years.

Frutco de las Americas SA’s new factory building — a 100 % subsidiary of our holding CT Finance AG — has been completed and is located in a duty-free zone directly in the centre of the cultivation area, near the Pacific port of Puerto Corinto. The work on the interior is in full swing. The fully-automated Rossi&Catelli production plant by CFT in Parma will be shipped to Nicaragua in early 2019. Frutco de las Americas SA is set to start production in Q2 2019.

For the 8th consequtive year already, the AIM took place from 9th-11th April 2018 at Dubai World Trade Center and is considered to be the leading interntaional direct investors meeting. More then 100 influencial and innovative experts participated at the conference to learn and discuss about the trends and innvocation of direct investments as a tool to guarantuee longterm competitiveness. The Conference was initiated and established by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economics to secure and promote innovative and direct investments longterm.

Claudia Lauener and Frank Hofer, nomenees and representatives of swiss-based Frutco AG, were proudly handed over the AIM Runner-up Investment Award 2018 for the best direct investment in Latinamerica, supported by nicaraguan ambassador Mohamed Lashtar.

The 20 Million Dollar project CHIMACO AG (farms) and Frutco de Las Americas SA (processing) has become an epicenter of sustainability for trainings, education and farming in regards of Maracuya. CHIMACO stands for Chinandega Maracuya Company and employs more then 100 people.

Frutco AG and CHIMACO currently produce on 200 hectares of farmland. As soon as the processing plant of Frutco de Las Americas SA, a joint-venture of Swiss based CT Finance AG and Nicaragua based Grupo Coen will be ready for production, additional independent producers for Maracuya, Guava and Bananas will join the project with a production plan of more then 1.500 hectares, ready to produce purees, concenrates and juices. Grupo Coen will dedicate 2.000 hectares of extra land to the project. In addition to that, enough land can be added for portential future projects.