IADB invests in Mexican greenhouse producer

The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank, has issued a $6 million loan to International Greenhouse Produce (IGP) to boost IGP’s financial position and maintain its greenhouses.

This is IIC’s second investment in IGP, a Mexican company that grows greenhouse produce such as tomatoes, European seedless cucumbers, chillies and peppers for export, mainly to the US. The first loan helped the company undertake an expansion project, according to a press release.

The loan is used to support Mexico’s agriculture sector, by providing employment to over 3,000 people during harvesting season.

“With this loan, the IIC is supporting the growth of an agricultural company in a high value sector and boosting export chains. It is also supporting a supply chain of more than 2,000 providers, many of which are Mexican SMEs,” Carlos Martínez, IIC investment officer in charge of the operation, said in a statement.

As part of the investment, IIC will provide technical assistance to IGP, which is partially funded by the Korean Trust Fund.

The technical assistance will help IGP reduce and eventually stop the use of methyl bromide, a chemical that has widespread agricultural uses but is linked to the depletion of the ozone layer. “Helping IGP find ways to phase out its use of this chemical in a way that is not overly costly and maintains production levels would help not only this company, but would set an example for the entire Mexican produce industry,” says the press release.

According to its website, IIC promotes private-sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.  It provides companies with funding in the form of equity investments, loans and guarantees, as well as technical assistance, advisory services and knowledge products.

A Washington DC based supranational, IIC in 2014  approved 64 operations totalling $426.3 million. Since its inception in 1984, IIC has approved more than 920 loan and equity investments for small and medium-sized enterprise and financial intermediaries, for a total of $5.63 billion.