Agricultural sector National Chamber of Agriculture and Agribusiness (Costa Rica) agricultural production Agricultural products Juan Rafael Lizano Agriculture Agriculture & Food Competitiveness agricultural sector agricultural policy agroindustry Agroindustry International Commerce agricultural market agriculture prices

Differing Costs for AgriBusiness in Central American

While in Nicaragua and El Salvador the minimum monthly cost of farm labor is just over $100, in Guatemala it is $345 and in Costa Rica it is over $460.

Monday, January 11, 2016

In a region where agricultural production is relatively the same in most countries, production costs are very different, resulting in very different levels of productivity that ultimately benefit some more than others.

"...According to the president of the National Chamber of Agriculture and Agribusiness, Juan Rafael Lizano, Costa Rica pays the second highest salaries in Latin American and has the lowest inflation, which is completely illogical. 'The weight of labor is around 60% of production costs and it is very expensive. A tractor starts up at six in the morning and turns off at six in the afternoon and all that consumption of labor must be absorbed and added to this is the fact that domestic farmers are competing with countries that produce a lot cheaper,' he said."

"... Lizano said (in Costa Rica) production rates for bananas and pineapples are not growing and that in grains and vegetables it is so high that importers prefer to buy them from abroad."

Source: Crhoy.com