Chiquita opens terminal, distribution center at Port Everglades

Chiquita opens terminal, distribution center at Port Everglades    Chiquita Brands Co. will establish a container cargo terminal at Port Everglades, Fla.
   The marketing, producer and distributor of fresh and processed foods singed a 10-year renewable lease agreement with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. Chiquita will operate an existing 13.1-acre dockside cargo terminal, including 8,692 square feet of office space. In addition, the company will lease about 52,000 square feet inside a recently constructed 81,572-square-foot warehouse within Port Everglades. The space will be used as a fresh produce ripening and regional distribution facility.
   Through its Great White Fleet maritime division, Chiquita will provide weekly sailings to and from Central America, handling about 30,000 containers in the first year of operation at Port Everglades. The service will import bananas, plantains and melons and export generalized commercial cargo.
   Great White Fleet's 'Puritan' will be the first vessel to arrive at Port Everglades, Sept. 22. The new service at Port Everglades will be stevedored by APM Terminals Inc.
   Great White Fleet has been calling the Port of Miami.
   'Our move to Port Everglades will result in improved efficiencies for facilities, inland transportation and ripening,' said Raul Fernandez, vice president of distribution center operations for Chiquita Fresh Fruit North America.