A great work outdoors, in the streets, on the docks and in the sea. About thirty kilometers from Perpignan and a few curves from the border with Spain, the large city of Port-Vendres (Pyrénées-Orientales), with about 4,000 inhabitants. , dreams of relaunching its port activities. On October 22, the Cameroon-Expressa 158-meter-long refrigerated cargo ship, docked at the François-Joly dock. On board, 6,000 tons of bananas from Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana, as well as pallets of cocoa and mangoes.
This vessel is part of the new fleet of four ships of the Compagnie fruitière, an integrated company based in Marseille, specialist since 1938 in the cultivation, transport and marketing of fruits and vegetables. “We want to establish our presence in Port-Vendres,” says Jérôme de Frémont, vice president of logistics at the company. This has also obtained the management of the commercial port since 1Ahem January, until then entrusted to the chamber of commerce and industry of the department by the departmental council. “By managing all aspects of maritime trade, we want to develop a global strategy for southern Europe.” specifies Mr. de Frémont, who became president of the Compagnie Port-Vendraise, a subsidiary created to manage the port.
Close to Spain, the south of France or Italy, the company, present since 1992 in Port-Vendres, wants to intensify its rotations from West Africa, perhaps before new lines to the Maghreb.. “Today, Port-Vendres receives 260,000 tons of bananas per year from our plantations in Africa. Our goal is to quickly reach 350,000 tons. And at the end of the concession in 2039, we will be able to set the goal of having doubled our volumes”confided Jérôme Fabre, head of the Fruit Company, during the first arrival of the Cameroon-Express.
“Get the city out of its juice”
In Port-Vendres cove, fishing boats have been progressively disappearing in recent years. Only two large tuna boats remain, moored at the dock most of the time. Starting in 2025, the four new 160-meter freighters, built in Japan, will operate one rotation per week. They will benefit from the good draft of 8.5 meters and, above all, from a new dock, currently under construction, for 30 million euros. “For us it is a way to enter the 21st century.my century, to get the city out of its juice”, comments the mayor (without label) Grégory Marty. With nearly 200 employees and 20,000 square meters of refrigerated hangar, Port-Vendres now aspires to become a “fruit hub” that distinguishes it from Marseille, Sète (Hérault) or Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude).
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