In the context of the current health emergency, Costa Rican companies working in the production of food and cleaning supplies have had to considerably increase their operations to cover the growing demand.
The covid-19 outbreak caused consumers to increase spending on basic necessities such as food and cleaning supplies in recent weeks, forcing companies in these sectors to work overtime, invest in equipment and hire more workers on a temporary basis.
In Costa Rica, the business sector is opposed to a proposed law that would give Icafé the power to impose requirements and controls on the processes of supplying the raw material necessary for grain production.
Costa Rican businessmen are opposed to the bill that gives Icafé the authority to impose requirements and controls on the processes of supplying the raw material necessary for grain production.
In the current period, the Legislative Assembly plans to discuss bill 21.163, which aims to transform the powers of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (Icafé), but the business sector anticipates that the proposed modifications will lead to a rise in the prices of the product.
In Costa Rica, the sector guild reports that during 2018, total exports of the food industry registered a slight decrease of 1% compared to last year's foreign sales.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (Cacia) reported that the products recording falls in sales abroad this year were flours, fats, seafood, sugar, pastas, juices and alcohol, especially by the decline in purchases in the U.S. and Europe.
Food companies in Costa Rica say that eliminating VAT from the basic basket in the tax reform proposal would create an incentive for imported foods, over and above local production.
The Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (Cacia) reacted to the decision of the deputies to exempt VAT of 1% and 2% on the products of the basic basket in the Bill of Strengthening of Public Finances, which is being discussed in the Assembly.
Costa Rican entrepreneurs are concerned about the impact of the crisis in the neighboring country on food exports, which between 2015 and 2017 grew at an average annual rate of 4%.
According to figures from the Promotora del Comercio Exterior (Procomer), last year Costa Rica's food industry exports amounted to $1.618 billion, which is equivalent to an increase of 4.7% compared to the amount reported in 2016.
A "national scientific table" will analyze the reasons for the restriction on imports of the fruit from Mexico and seek alternatives to reactivate the purchases.
The objective of the analysis is to verify the existence of scientific foundations in the decision of the Phytosanitary Service of Costa Rica to ban the import of the fruit from several countries.
According to the food industry chamber, the import ban on certain food products "does not conform to principles of reasonableness, technical criteria and political neutrality."
In a new attempt to reason with the authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Phytosanitary Service, the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (Cacia) asked President Solis to intervene to lift obstacles that have been imposed on the import of raw materials such as "... honey, potatoes, some varieties of spices, pork, fish, green bananas and jalapenos ..." as they are having problems entering the country.
Non-tariff restrictions applied by the Ministry of Agriculture put into practice its ultra protectionist philosophy, contradicting what the Ministry of Foreign Trade is doing, generating shortages and distorting the market.
An article in Nacion.com reports on how the Minister of Foreign Trade (Comex), Alexander Mora, "... criticized the lack of advanced warning from partner countries of Costa Rica, regarding recent sanitation blockages that prevent products being imported in those markets. "
The Ministry of Agriculture said no to the possibility of importing potatoes, despite demands made by the industrial sector.
The government argues that in order to opening up markets to potato imports a study would need to be carried out to determine whether there is shortage of the product, and the data of the National Production Council confirms that there is sufficient supply.
Costa Rican industry is paying 33% more for potato tubers because of a scarcity in the market, resulting in a call for a reduction of import tariffs.
In the country the high price of potatoes for industrial use compared to prices in other markets is already old news.
Now the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (Cacia) is asking for the tariff, which currently stands at 46%, to be lowered, in order to import at a reasonable cost and in this way deal with local shortages.
The food industry claims that several processing plants have stopped work due to shortage of raw materials and are asking the government to eliminate import tariffs in order to solve the problem.
From a statement from the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (CACIA):
Given the serious problem of the shortage of potatoes for industrial use, which for weeks has paralyzed the production of several processing plants; threatening the jobs of some 2,000 people directly dependent on this sector; the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry, CACIA is making an urgent call to the Government of the Republic to immediately attend to this crisis.
On November 25 domestic and foreign experts will be gathering together in San Jose to discuss the transformation and innovation of ingredients in the face of new food trends.
From a statement from the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (CACIA):
Ingredient suppliers have endeavored to present developments that meet new nutritional trends, in order to create products with different nutritional characteristics, according to the needs of consumers. For example, foods made from traditional nutrients have always existed, however, the ingredients industry shows a highly developed range of options for innovation in markets for products with reduced sugar, fat and sodium.
Beverage Industry Digital Magazine established in 1942, the oldest Spanish trade journal and the only beverage trade magazine serving the Latin American beverage market. It serves soft drink bottlers, brewers, bottled water...