Del Monte re-ups with Port Manatee

The fruit company signed a lease extension with Port Manatee through Aug. 31, 2021, with options for three additional extensions of five years each, the Central Florida Gulf Coast port said in a statement.    Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. has signed a lease extension with Port Manatee through Aug. 31, 2021, the Central Florida Gulf Coast port said in a statement.
   The fruit company has used Port Manatee for imports to the United States since 1989, deploying refrigerated container vessels loaded with bananas and pineapples from Central America on a weekly basis. Del Monte’s export cargos include linerboard used for packaging, as well as various third-party containers and project cargos.
   Del Monte has moved 8.7 million short tons of cargo through Port Manatee since 1989 and the company’s southeast distribution center at the port has become the company’s second-largest U.S. facility during that time.
   “Extension of Port Manatee’s long-term partnership with Del Monte demonstrates the mutual commitment on the part of our port and a most-valued tenant,” Manatee County Port Authority Chairwoman Betsy Benac said of the agreement.
   “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Port Manatee,” added Brian Giuliani, Del Monte’s Port Manatee-based port manager. “The cooperation with Port Manatee is exceptional and has been vital to the growth of our business at Port Manatee.”
   Located in Tampa Bay, Fla., Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the recently expanded Panama Canal and Cuba’s Port of Mariel, serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers.