Del Monte gets Panama banana exports from Barú back on track

The $120 million that Del Monte invested in the reactivation of the banana plantations in the Barú region of Panama has yielded its first exports to the United States.

Some 3,000 cases were exported to California, via the Costa Rican port of Puerto Caldera. The reactivation in Barú has created 300 direct jobs but Del Monte says that some 3,200 will be created once production returns to maximum.

Bananas have been a mainstay of Panama's exports for many years, including about 15 percent of the total.