GAF
Charcoal, exportable item in Villa Clara
Engaged in the task of diversifying productions, both for domestic consumption and to guarantee Cuba's presence in the foreign market, the Villa Clara company of the Yabú Valley, promotes the production of charcoal.
The initiative, implemented less than six months ago and affected by the impact of COVID-19, arose ?in the Base Business Unit (UEB) Yabú (livestock entity) ? due to the need to raise foreign currency for the purchase of certain inputs, Yirmany Pérez Pérez de Alejo, the company's production manager, told the press.
The manager pointed out that this idea doubly benefits the center, as land infested by marabou is cleaned and is ready for livestock, while income is received and a new and important production is assumed.
According to Juan Apolonio, director of the Livestock UEB, last February the first 16.8 tons (t) of charcoal left Europe after a complex process of contracting, quality control and selection of packaging, under the guidance of the exporter Empresa Cítricos Caribe.
He added that so far, the objective is to sell two containers of coal per month (to close the year with about 20 t sold); although there are already 40 t in storage, waiting for commercial operations to restart.
For her part, Mailín Cárdenas Machado, president of the Roberto Fleites Credit and Service Cooperative, commented that the export activity facilitates the acquisition of essential products to work in the field; However, a certain bureaucracy that hinders the exchange between artisanal producers and companies, and the direct purchase of merchandise, must still be eliminated.
"We intend to form a brigade of five or six workers who deliver at least two ovens weekly and benefit charcoal burners with chainsaws to facilitate their work," he said.
After the production of charcoal for export gave such good results in the UEB in early 2020, the initiative was extended to seven other productive forms associated with Yabú, where 21 workers from the center and more than 10 are already focused on the activity. peasants from neighboring farms.
Each export bag contains 15 kg of premium charcoal, while the smallest pieces and shavings end up in bales as second and third category merchandise.
