Between 2 and 5 years will pass until the Association Agreement with Europe enters into force, but Costa Rican exporters are already studying how to compete in that market.
Being more and more competitive seems to be the basic recipe to effectively compete in the EU’s 500 million person market.
Costa Rican businessmen are already seeking the necessary tools to achieve this indispensable increase in competitiveness: advice and training in how to export to Europe, business networking and adapting their goods to Europe’s demands and preferences.
Breeders from Central America agreed to request the European Union an annual quota of 30.000 tons, as part of the Association Agreement being negotiated between both blocks.
Aldo Mazzero, president of the Cental American Beef Federation, explained that this topic will be negotiated in the upcoming round, to take place in Belgium between April 19 and 27.
A delegation of Venezuelan businessmen is in Costa Rica negotiating conditions to buy meat.
This process started several months ago. Three weeks ago, Venezuelan health officials inspected three slaughterhouses.
Mazzero, president of Corfoga, an association fostering livestock breeding, told Nacion.com: "Our ambassador in Venezuela, Vladimir de la Cruz, expressed that the Venezuelans come here to buy our excess production".
Through an interest rate subsidy, small and medium producers who apply will only have to pay the basic passive rate.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the Livestock Development Corporation (COFORGA) will subsidize, with half a million dollars, the four points over the basic passive rate that are charged for development loans. In this way, small and medium producers who enter the program will pay only the basic passive rate (currently 11.25% annually).
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