Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc and Vellsam Materias Bioactivas have joined forces to turn Fresh Del Monte’s pineapple residues into biofertilizers.

Announcing the Fresh Del Monte-led partnership, the company said it would operate under the name De l’Ora Bio and involves the inauguration of a biofertilizer plant in Kenya.

The plant is situated close to Fresh Del Monte’s subsidiary in Kenya, Del Monte Kenya Ltd. The biofertilizer plant will use residues from the company’s pineapple cannery. The pineapples come from Del Monte Kenya’s large pineapple plantation in Thika, northeast of Nairobi.

The company’s aim is to create different types of biofertilizers for distribution among growers in Kenya and other East African markets.

The new plant is currently running tests and will be fully operational in June [2024], says the company. “Del Monte Kenya is the single largest exporter in the country and already employs 6,500 Kenya workers directly,” the statement said.