The installation of a large coconut processing plant is set to boost the local economy in Ceará. The plant will create thousands of jobs as well as push up demand for property in the area. This BRIC Group news article provides the full picture.
One of the largest coconut companies in Brazil Cohibra announced earlier in June that it will be installing a large processing plant in Ceará. For the location, Cohibra has chosen Trairi, around 130km northwest of the state capital Fortaleza and an area renowned for its coconut plantations that form an essential part of its stunning natural beauty.
Best location in Ceará
According to Cohibra’s management team, Trairi is the best location in Ceará for the plant because of three main factors. The first is the proximity of the small municipality to the coconut trees themselves. The company owns plantations throughout Brazil, but Ceará is home to over a third of them.
The second cited by Cohibra for the choice of Trairi is the area’s excellent infrastructure and in particular the CE-085 highway. This road connects the town with Fortaleza city, Fortaleza Airport and Pecém Port, one of the largest import and export points in Brazil.
Work is well advanced on the completion of the dual-carriageway on the stretch of the CE-085 highway between the Paracuru exit and Trairi. In early June, around 40 per cent of the work costing R$49 million had been carried out. Once the 29-km stretch is finished the journey time between Trairi and Fortaleza will be considerably reduced as well as easier and safer.
Cohibra also chose Trairi because of the technical school in the town. The company’s research teams plans to cooperate closely with the school on developing coconut by-products.
Employment boost
With an investment of approximately R$100 million, Cohibra estimates that the plant will provide 1,500 direct jobs. Local officials believe that up to three times as many will be created indirectly.
This surge in employment opportunities will undoubtedly boost the local economy in Ceará and the company will inevitably have to draw on professionals and technicians from further afield when the plant becomes operational in the first half of 2017.
Demand for coconut by-products
The new processing centre at Trairi will be a major hub for innovation and research into the use of by-products from fruit, increasingly in demand from sectors such as the pharmaceutical and health food industries.
Cohibra management envisage three main fields of investigation: the use of extra virgin coconut oil for cosmetic and medicinal purposes; the manufacture of activated carbon filters from coconut husks for water filtration; and the production of food supplements. Demand for all three has increased considerably in recent years in both the Brazilian and international markets.
“This is good news for Trairi and the local economy in Ceará,” said Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group. “As a result of this large-scale employment creation, we expect more demand for property generally and for high-end homes in particular as the professionals employed at the plant seek quality housing in easy reach of their workplace.”
An investment company specialising in global real estate opportunities, BRIC Group is currently developing The Coral resort, in Northeast Brazil, a luxury beachfront resort. BRIC Group also offers US real estate investments including turnkey properties in Florida and Houston, and land plots in Florida. BRIC Group has been creating wealth for its clients since 1996 and has offices in Brazil, Dubai (consulting office), Hungary, Spain and the US.
(Sources: O Globo, Ceará state government)
