Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited (TOPCO), a subsidiary of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), yesterday launched its new range of one-litre juices and juice drinks in four flavours.
The new 1-litre juices and juice drinks are available in Pineapple, Orange, Orange Unsweetened and Cherry and are now available at leading supermarkets countrywide
The DDL group invested $4 billion in a new Tetra Pak packaging plant, as well as a fruit processing plant in 2020. In spite of COVID-19 and its many limitations, a release from DDL said that the Group remained committed to responding both to consumer demand and to a commitment made to farmers that TOPCO would provide a growing market for their produce.
The release noted that the TOPCO expansion is a part of a larger five-year $10B expansion project, announced by DDL Executive Chairman Komal Samaroo in 2017. In describing the project, Samaroo said that “Despite oil and gas, the agriculture sector must be developed. He noted that the value-added processing of the nation’s fruits and vegetables into pulp and juices, and eventually milk supplied by local dairy farmers, for local consumption and export is a huge step in that direction.”
Prior to the expansion, the release said that TOPCO was purchasing 1 million pounds of fruits per year of cherry, passion fruit, carambola and guava from farmers. With the expansion, the release said that the volume is expected to increase to 4 million pounds per year. The range of fruits is also being expanded to include mangoes, pineapple and citrus.
Samaroo noted that “Farmers will benefit from this project through a guarantee that their supply of fruits to TOPCO is secure, with stability of prices in spite of market demand/supply conditions. There is also the potential to increase their cultivation of fruits to increase supply to TOPCO. He added that, “Another benefit to farmers will be the ability to collaborate with a network of technical and financial agriculture-support agencies, as part of the holistic market-driven approach to developing partnerships with local fruits and dairy farmers.”
