The dispute that is still unresolved dates back several years, when in May 2014 the Costa Rican authorities decided to ban the import of avocado from Mexico, arguing the existence of the disease called sunspot. See history of the conflict.

Given the vacuum left by Mexican sellers, the opportunity to supply the Costa Rican market has been seized by other countries.

In 2014 purchases from Mexican companies represented 83% of the total, but since 2016 there are no reported imports of Hass avocado from the U.S. country.

You may be interested in "Crops in Central America: Main Figures in 2018”

Last year, the scenario changed considerably, since the figures of the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) specify that in 2018 fruit purchases from companies in Chile, Nicaragua and Peru, represented respectively 35%, 33% and 22% of Costa Rican imports.

Nacion.com reports that "... The data indicate that total imports of this food were reduced after the measure that suspended permits to bring Hass avocado from Mexico. In 2013 imports were 13,061 tons. By 2016, and with the departure of that country, 9,334 tons were imported and last year purchases abroad were for 7,899 tons."

Randal Benavides, president of the Chamber of Exporters and Importers of Perishable Products, explained that "... in the Costa Rican avocado market there was a phenomenon contrary to economic theory: demand had to adapt to supply, rather than transform supply according to demand.”

Source: Nacion.com

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