Chiquita has chosen a site near downtown New Orleans to ripen the bananas it ships in from Central America.
Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange tells New Orleans CityBusiness that the company will lease private property on Earhart Boulevard near South Claiborne Avenue.
The company’s search was thought to involve only port-owned property. According to port officials, the produce company required about 40,000 square feet of space.
Chiquita has continued handling the ripening process at the Port of Gulfport in Mississippi.
Its shipping operations began this month at the Napoleon Avenue Terminal in New Orleans. LaGrange says Chiquita wanted to avoid the expense of staying in that situation.
