DEG finances food production in Costa Rica

• 7.1m US-dollars for hot pepper sauce manufacturer Kamuk
• Signing ceremony on the occasion of the Latin American Day 2014 in Cologne
• Conference with over 300 international participants

DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, provides the Costa Rican Alimentos Kamuk Internactional C.R, S.A. (Kamuk) with a long-term loan to the amount of 7.1m US-dollars. For more than 30 years, the medium-sized company has produced spiced sauces, including hot pepper, soy or BBQ sauces which are sold under its own brands as well as private labels.

The purpose of the DEG loan is to enlarge Kamuk's capacities by building a larger and more efficiently structured production plant. Thanks to an increasing demand for quality food products, the company has grown over the past years. It can react flexibly to trends in taste and rapidly launch new products. In addition, the expansion will allow for adding convenience products such as pasta sauce and jams to its product range.

"Our investment enables an innovative medium-sized enterprise to grow further and to expand its product range," said Bruno Wenn, Chairman of DEG's Management Board on the occasion of the signing ceremony in Cologne. "We are pleased to be able to realise our expansion plans together with DEG - a competent and experienced partner," emphasised Carlos González, one of the company's owners.

To guarantee the quality of its products, Kamuk uses mainly fresh ingredients: vegetables, spices and herbs are predominantly supplied by smallholders. The long-term purchase agreements with Kamuk safeguard their income. At present, the company itself employs a staff of around 100. Another 20 new jobs will be created by extending the capacities.

Currently 80 per cent of the production is exported - mainly to the United States and the neighbouring Central American countries. Given that eating habits have changed also in other regions and that there is an increased demand for special products like hot pepper sauces, the company intends to expand into new geographic markets.

Kamuk belongs to the Grupo Pelón, which comprises a series of agricultural companies from Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Previously DEG already provided other companies of the Group with long-term finance and advice on, for example, resource efficiency. The Group stands out because of its commitment to the environment and climate: it offsets all unavoidable emissions by funding reforestation projects.

The loan agreement with Kamuk was signed on the fringes of the 65th Latin America Day. On 27 and 28 October, some 300 representatives from industry and politics attended the traditional conference of the Hamburg-based Lateinamerika Verein e.V. (LAV), which this year took place under the patronage of the City of Cologne. DEG and Commerzbank jointly hosted the evening reception at the Atrium of DEG's headquarters on 27 October.

DEG has been active in Latin America for over 40 years and is represented on the continent by three offices in Mexico City, Lima and Sao Paulo. The current portfolio on the continent is roughly 1.9 billion euros. In 2013 alone, DEG committed around 400m euros to finance investments in Latin America.