S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 It has already taken Brazilian heart of palm to Lebanon. And plans to return to doing so as soon as possible. Responsible for supplying retail chains like P\u00e3o de A\u00e7\u00facar, Carrefour, Wal-Mart and Makro, companies like Sadia\/Perdig\u00e3o and famous restaurants, like Fasano, in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo, Palmito Floresta plans to grow 15% in 2010.<\/p>\n
Established by the Lebanese Merce Hojeije, currently mayor of the city of Juqui\u00e1, in Ribeira River Valley, in the interior of the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, the company is currently run by the entrepreneur\u2019s son, Khalil Yepes Hojeije. He is responsible for administration of the two Palmito Floresta units, one in Juqui\u00e1 and the other in Bel\u00e9m, in the state of Par\u00e1, in northern Brazil, where pupunha and assai palms are cultivated, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeart of palm is a high value-added product, one that is noble and tasty,\u201d said Khalil. \u201cFurthermore, it is used in several forms in gastronomy, from barbecue to pizza restaurants, in hot and cold dishes,\u201d said the director at Floresta and at Palmito Seguro (Safe Heart of Palm) Institute. To prove how broad the market for the food is, Khalil says that heart of palm is also present in the cuisine of the Middle East. \u201cFatuche, an Arab salad recipe, for example, includes palm,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Due to such a broad market, the company employs 250 people in S\u00e3o Paulo and 35 in Bel\u00e9m. The interior of S\u00e3o Paulo answers to 70% of production, estimated at three tonnes a day of the finished product, that is, packed and ready for trade. The target for 2010 is to expand business with the cultivation of 5 million palms in Juqui\u00e1. There are currently 2.5 million plants. \u201cPupunha palm is a renewable product, as the heart may be removed without the plant being killed,\u201d explained Khalil.<\/p>\n
The company plans for the foreign market involve the supply to markets that are already currently serviced by the company, like Spain and France, and the return to destinations that are no longer clients, like the Middle East. \u201cWe have sold to Lebanon before and all routes to return to this partnership are in place,\u201d said Khalil. If it is up to the executive, who travels to Lebanon every year to visit friends and relatives, this should not take long to happen.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Mark Ament<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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