Felix Hits Nicaragua and Honduras, Then Diminishes to Tropical Storm

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Felix hits Nicaragua and Honduras, then diminishes to tropical storm

September 5, 2007

Hurricane Felix, which reached Category 5 status and slammed into the Nicaragua-Honduras border Sept. 4, was reduced to a fast-moving tropical storm over eastern Guatemala.

The storm broke up and lost strength as it hit the Honduran mountains, according to Martin Maldonado of Miami-based Team Produce International Inc.

Ed Loyd, manager of investor relations and corporate communications for Chiquita Brands International in Cincinnati, said Sept. 5, "It's a little early for us to know what potential impact Hurricane Felix will have. We do have a number of farms in northern Honduras and Guatemala, and we also source from independent growers in southern Guatemala." These banana production areas "may be impacted by winds and rains. It is hard to predict." The speed of the storm is a key factor in the amount of damage, Mr. Loyd said.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch lingered for a week over Central America. That flooding dropped as much as four feet of rain on some parts of Honduras. Thus, news reports Sept. 5 that the storm was moving quickly were likely good news for produce grower-exporters in northern Central America.

Mr. Loyd said that Chiquita would release more complete information about the status of its Central American banana crop around Sept. 10.

Speaking from his Houston sales office, Guatemalan grower-exporter Antonio Maldonado said late in the afternoon of Sept. 5 that he was very thankful that Felix's ferocity had diminished to a tropical storm. Many Guatemalans spent the two days before the storm stocking up on supplies in preparation for the hurricane, "but now they're very tranquil," he said. "Thank God it is only a tropical

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storm. If it would have been a Category 1, 2 or 3 hurricane, that would have been pretty bad."

Mr. Maldonado had spoken with his son, Antonio Jose, in Guatemala and learned that the tropical storm wouldn't hit Guatemala's highland region until the evening of Sept. 5. It is there that specialties such as sno peas, French beans and flowers are grown.

Every part of Guatemala grows some sort of fresh produce commodity, he noted, so a storm striking any part of his country is of concern to the industry.

Mr. Maldonado said that these are the weeks of Guatemala's rainy season. In the first days of September, Guatemala received typical seasonal rains. The extra precipitation from Felix may cause mudslides and hurt the corn and bean harvest plans of subsistence farmers.

Because this is the off-season, Guatemalan sno pea production is only 30 percent of what it is in the United States' winter months. Guatemala is a produce exporter to neighboring El Salvador and Honduras in this rainy season, Mr. Maldonado said. Exports to those countries and the United States may be curtailed in September because of Felix.

Mr. Maldonado expected the storm to improve the sno pea market in the United States. Those prices have been hurt by competition between Peru and Guatemala, he noted.