GAF
Las Tunas Agroforestry Company directs charcoal production
The consequences of the crisis generated by the Covid-19 disease are felt in the Agroforestry Company of the province of Las Tunas, an entity that has seen a considerable decrease in the export of charcoal, one of its main productive lines.
According to Isidro Herrera Figueredo, director of the Commercial-based business unit, during 2020 the plan could not be fulfilled, because there were problems with raw materials and bags, a resource that was already hired in Villa Clara. The manager stated that in the current calendar there were also difficulties from the implementation of the Ordering Task, specifically with the prices of container transportation and other problems with customers, so in the first quarter they were only sold in the 85 tons abroad, of the 741 planned. In April 266 tons were already exported and the collective intention of the agroforestry of Las Tunas is to comply with the plan of the month and gradually recover the arrears until producing about 3,138 tons of the product in the year. In Las Tunas, charcoal is produced mainly with marabou, a plant considered undesirable due to the severe damage it causes to productive areas; On the other hand, after its processing, it has been very well received by customers. Experts say that marabou charcoal has been imposed on the international market because it has properties that differentiate it from the rest of the woods; for example, that it does not spark, its metallic sound, smell and durability, which gives a lot of calories when combustion. In the territory of Las Tunas, in addition to the Agroforestry Company, farmers also make charcoal in different productive forms and entities associated with the National Company for the Conservation of Flora and Fauna and agricultural companies, among other managers.
