Rainforest Caribbean, the region’s leading seafood processor and distributor, has begun exporting seafood from its newly constructed, seafood processing facility located in Calliaqua, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The first shipment of conch set sail for Florida, USA this week. The conch, which filled a 20 ft container, was sourced entirely from Vincentian artisanal fisherfolk and then processed and packed by Rainforest’s team of 80 employees.
Rainforest’s outpost in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a state-of-the-art seafood processing plant that was completed in January 2022 and features 250,000lbs of cold storage, blast freezers and processing rooms along with innovative equipment that will allow for at-source retail packaging ensuring that product presentation appeals to international markets. The trailblazing company has already begun to process lobster, conch and a variety of fin-fish.
Brian Jardim, the company’s CEO, explained, “This shipment is a major milestone for the Rainforest Team. After construction delays as a result of the pandemic, we are excited to have this facility up and running and now exporting product abroad. This is just the beginning as we are actively seeking new markets around the globe for Vincentian seafood which has proven to be highly sought-after for its quality and sustainability. We are very optimistic about what the future holds and pleased with our ongoing investment in St. Vincent.”
Jardim also expressed his gratitude to the Rainforest St Vincent team who have worked assiduously to make this conch shipment happen and to the fisherfolk from across St Vincent and the Grenadines with whom Rainforest has built strong partnerships.
Rainforest Caribbean is headquartered in Jamaica and has satellite operations in Belize, St Lucia and most recently St Vincent and the Grenadines. Rainforest currently employs over 900 people across the region and exports its range of products to over 30 countries.
