Cuba to Increase Export of Marabú Charcoal in 2011
- Submitted by: manso
- Business and Economy
- 04 / 23 / 2011
![](https://www.cubaheadlines.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node_300x300/business_and_economy/carbon_horno_pinar.jpg)
2011.04.22 - 11:31:57 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. HAVANA, Cuba.- The Cuban Ministry of Agriculture hopes to conclude 2011 with the export of more than 30,000 tons of charcoal made of marabú trees.
According to Arisbel Ferro, director of the Fruit Business Company, which markets the product abroad, the initiative will contribute some 40 million dollars to the national economy.
Ferro told ACN that charcoal is shipped mostly to Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Germany and Portugal, where it is highly demanded for food cooking purposes.
Roger Risquedo Hernandez, director of the Victoria de Giron Citrus Company in central Matanzas province, told ACN that this year they expect to surpass the 1,200 tons they sold in 2010. He added that a rise of charcoal prices in the international market will allow them to increase production yield.
According to official figures, Cuba’s charcoal exports last year contributed 37 million dollars to the nation’s coffers.
Specialists say that there are approximately 900,000 tons of marabú in Cuba, which could generate more than one billion dollars after being turn into charcoal.
Marabú (Dychrostachys cinerea) is a weed tree that grows unchecked throughout the island, but its long thorns discourage most farmers from cutting it down.(ACN)
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