Arctic Circle sets meeting to buy produce from NMI farmers

Artic Circle Air will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2011, at 5:30pm at the Northern Marianas Trade Institute in Lower Base for all CNMI farmers and ranchers who are interested in selling produce for export to Guam.

Other meetings will be held on Rota and Tinian to involve local farmers and ranchers. Artic Circle, which will be doing business as Marianas Harvest, will market produce to retailers, wholesalers, hotels and the U.S. military in Guam. Marianas Harvest plans to buy future delivery of produce with contract detailing type of produce, quantity, price, and delivery schedule.

Tony Pellegrino, president of Artic Circle Air, says, “Farmers can increase their income by selling future delivery produce. Farmers receive payment upon delivery to packing location at Lower Base against a signed contract. Marianas Harvest will handle the selling, packaging, shipping and collection.” The company has retained long time agricultural consultant Isidoro T. Cabrera to coordinate purchases directly between farmers and Marianas Harvest. Cabrera will assist farmers to ensure delivery of produce per contact.

Herman R. Gurrero, vice president of Community Relations, says that Artic Circle has the capacity of transporting 25,000 lbs of cargo on a weekly basis. “Our goal is to allocate to local farmers 60-70 percent of this cargo capacity. It will not happen overnight and that is why we are holding this meeting to introduce our program.”

According to Guam import statistics, over $1.2 million worth of vegetables and over $800,000 worth of fruit were imported into Guam in March 2011. “This is monthly import. The CNMI has virtually no sales to our nearest large export market. Rota does more farm sales because it is closer to Guam and freight costs lower,” said Pellegrino.

Pellegrino’s belief is that for the local economy to grow, the CNMI needs to export and bring in more revenue. Guam has over three times the population of the CNMI and has three times the number of tourists. Total local Guam agricultural sales are only 12 percent higher than total CNMI farmer’s sales, according to USDA Agricultural Census Report.

Farmers are encouraged to attend the meeting on Jan. 11 to learn how they can participate and increase sales. “Farmers and ranchers can aid in the CNMI’s economic growth and development. We only have to start,” said Pellegrino.

Important information will be provided and questions will be answered at the Wednesday meeting.