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• Isla de la Juventud
• national
• Science and Technology
• Business and Economy
• 01 / 13 / 2010

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The industrial processing of tomato this year started at the Majagua preserves factory in the central province of Ciego de Ávila, since that unit was the one showing best results during the last milling season.

Osmar Méndez de la Fe, the national director of vegetable crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, during the meeting for the starting of the harvest, expressed that 104 000 tons of tomatoes will be processed in the 2009-2010 season, which task will involve all the provinces including the Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth.

Among the territories that will contribute the largest volumes of the vegetable are Ciego de Ávila, which is due to supply over 20 000 tons, Pinar del Río, Havana, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, Holguín and Granma, all of them engaged in processing 90 percent of the whole production.

In order to guarantee the agreed productions, 7 000 hectares were planted, but this figure is smaller than that of the last harvest but it  will allow to attain better industrial yield and to avoid the loss of crops, plans for the present month is to cultivate 1 800 more hectares.

The final product is used to elaborate several kinds of sauces intended for the tourist sector, the institutions and the population.

Every tomato paste can of 2 500 g that the country used to import was worth 3, 16 dollars. During the 80's of the last century over 4 million cans were regularly bought.

Source: www.invasor.cu/