Pur Cacao, a French company dedicated to processing cocoa beans to export mass to make chocolate, opened its first processing plant in Costa Rica. The French company will purchase cacao beans from Bribri indigenous families in Talamanca.
The corporation chose the Muelle Free Trade Zone, located in the northern part of the country, to set up its operations. They hope to provide European and Japanese chocolatiers with high-quality products and, soon, expand their services to other countries such as the United States.
One main characteristic that differentiates this company is how they buy cacao and the development they hope to generate for the producers.
“I want to introduce this Costa Rican product to France, Japan, and the United States. I want everyone to know about the Criollo cacao from Talamanca, produced and cared for in the best way possible by Bribis indigenous producers,” pointed out Magalicia Escalante, founding partner of Pur Cacao in Costa Rica.
She also mentioned that Costa Rica is a country that respects and cares for nature and humans, which are “part of the values we want to transmit from Pur Cacao through this highly aromatic product.”
Pur Cacao is the first multinational company to be installed in the Muelle Free Trade Zone, taking advantage of the option provided by the industrial park for companies operating under this regime.
The company chose said location because of its strategic location, the park’s facilities, and its talent. Currently, Pur Cacao has five employees from the Northern Zone.
“Development outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) is one of the country’s priorities. That is why, from the Foreign Trade sector, we are working to improve competitiveness and seek economic growth with an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient perspective. Pur Cacao’s investment in Muelle de San Carlos is a sign of the potential that all cantons have,” commented Paula Bogantes from the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
For CINDE, this is excellent news as their strategies to create jobs and aid the economic development of rural areas are working.
“These projects reflect the great work communities outside the Greater Metropolitan Area have done to generate development and bring employment to their regions. For CINDE, the development and attraction of investments outside the GAM is a priority, and we are committed to continuing working hand in hand with the communities and generating the best conditions for companies to invest,” said Jorge Sequeira, Director General of CINDE.
About Zona Franca Muelle
Zona Franca Muelle was born in response to a regional development strategy driven by private sectors and supported by public institutions.
“Zona Franca Muelle is a park with first-world infrastructure that provides all the services needed by national and international companies. This is the first industrial, commercial, and logistic park under the free trade zone regime in the Northern Huetar region. It has 47 hectares strategically located in Muelle de San Carlos,” concluded Fabricio Ramirez, representative of Zona Franca Muelle.
