• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 10 / 28 / 2010

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2010.10.27 - 13:44:19 / [email protected]. CIENFUEGOS, CUBA.- Cuba has started to export a species of chili pepper (Capsicum chinense), after selling to Canada the first 27 tons of the crop this year.

Chili peppers are an underestimated crop in the Cuban diet and had nearly vanished from the country’s fields until an agricultural enterprise in the municipality of Abreu, Cienfuegos, started growing the crop in cultivation houses covering a total area of barely 4.70 acres.

The enterprise, named La Horquita, currently harvests an average of five kilograms per plant in a month, but is looking to boost production after planting ten of its 36 cultivation houses with red and yellow chilli peppers.

According to vegetable specialist of the provincial Agriculture office of Cienfuegos, Ruperto Valle, Canada could be a good market for Cuba since chili peppers are highly welcomed in that country as they help consumers cope with the low temperatures.

Other virtues attributed to chili are its anticancer and analgesic qualities, and its avility to help increase peripheral blood circulation, and bring down the blood pressure. They are also rich in vitamins C and A.

The Capsicum chinense is a species of chili pepper that includes several varieties, among them the Habanero chile (Caribbean, Central America and Mexico), which was apparently named after the Cuban capital, although Havana is not its place of origin and it is not commonly grown in the island.

The Habanero chile is one of the hottest varieties of the Capsicum genus, and it has been accepted by Guinness as the world’s hottest chilli pepper.

Source: ACN