Agribusiness

Haiti: Top Exporter of Mangoes in The Caribbean Region.

Sector Overview

Agricultural production in Haiti represents 30% of GDP and employs up to 50% of the work force, mostly dedicated to subsistence farming. Investment opportunities in the agricultural sector show promise for interested investors due to the quality of the available arable land, the recovery of the production after the earthquake in 2010 and the experienced low cost labor force.

Promising land on the plains has the advantage of being located primarily adjacent to the sea, making it easier to channel products to national and international markets.

Main Agricultural Zones

Arable land (% of land area)

Haiti is ranked second in the Caribbean for the country with the most arable land. It is only behind Cuba, whose size is five times larger than Haiti.

Source: World Bank Group Global Indicators

Key Strengths on Main Products

Mango:

Haiti is the top exporter of Mangoes in the Caribbean by value and the 16 exporter in the world.

Source: FAOSTAT

Haiti is able to produce mangoes almost all year round in different regions of the island thanks to its diversity of microclimates:

Mango Production Calendar

Leogane: October - December

The Plaine de Cul de Sac: November - February

Arcahaie and Cabaret: January - March

Artibonite: April - June

Central Plateau: May - June

Gros Morne - Port-de-Paix: June - September

With over 140 varieties of mangos, it is estimated that Haiti is only exporting 20% of its potential output

despite a high demand on the local market. As a result, it has attracted company like Coca Cola to choose its mango juice for its products.

Cacao

Haitian’s cacao is renowned to be of the best qualities in the world. It is mainly grown in the northern and southern part of the country by an estimated 20,000 independent producers:

•     First major production area : the Northern region including Grande Riviere du Nord, Acul du Nord, Port Margot, Borne (Ti bourg) St-Raphael, Dondon and Milot;
•     Second major production area: the Grande-Anse covering Dame-Marie,Chambellan, Anse-d’ Hailnaut, Moron, and Marfranc with Petit Bourg in the north and Dame-Marie.

National production has been estimated to be 4,600 metric tonnes in 2008 of which 3800 metric tonnes are exported via two major distributors, Novella and Wieners.

Coffee

Haiti was known in the past for being a large sugar and coffee producer in the Caribbean. A remnant of her old self, in 2011 she is only known for her “Haitian blue” by coffee connoisseur in Europe and Japan. Coffee is the dominant cash crop and employs direct and indirectly 1 million Haitians. Production is estimated to be around 400,000 bags (convert) down from an estimated peak of 800,000 in 1970. Most of the production is consumed locally with the rest being exported by two coffee exporters: Rebo and Wiener. There is a great potential for transforming Haiti’s coffee sector from a producer of low quality natural coffee into a producer and exporter of high-quality coffee, especially fully-washed coffee.

Haiti remains one of the few country with a production process chemically free and 100 percent organic. The “blue mountain” is purely organic and benefit from an ecological environment suited for the highest standard. 

Tax holidays

Foreign investors can benefit from a zero tax rate for up to 15 years, with an additional five years of a digressive rate.The Investment Code provides for generous incentives. Agriculture and Agribusiness projects can fall under two section of the code: Agriculture or National Industry 

• Activities under the Agriculture section of the code
• Activities under National Industry section of the code 
• General Incentives for Agriculture sector and Investment in National Industry
• Specific Incentives for Agriculture sector- Specific Incentives for National Industry
• Specific procedure should be followed to apply and obtain the incentives.
• Form to be filed for incentives in Agriculture sector and National Industry

How CFI can assist you:

The agribusiness sector in Haiti has great potential for growth and investment. CFI can assist investors in learning more about opportunities in the agribusiness sector. CFI acts like a hub to cross-reference agencies and entities in order to provide business and legal information to investors. CFI provides help to investors by facilitating site selection or enterprise installation, choice of professional’s advisors, site visits, follow-up of the project until achievement.