Although in Costa Rica the procedures for approving new pesticides that enter the market should take a few weeks, there are processes that have not been processed for more than ten years, which prevents increasing and improving the supply of products.
The State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, accumulates dozens of files that are still pending approval, including some that have been waiting for more than a decade.
Authorities from both countries agreed that Costa Rica would accept avocado from Mexico, as long as it has a phytosanitary certificate indicating that the shipment is "symptom-free."
The State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of Costa Rica, managed to agree in December 2018 with the new Mexican authorities, the procedure to end almost four years of trade conflict, which emerged from the barriers imposed on the entry of avocado to the Costa Rican market.
Because of the dry season and the rise in temperature, Costa Rica expects an increase in pests in crops such as melon, watermelon, courgette, chili, tomato, beans and cucumbers, among others.
Authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) informed that the climatic conditions foreseen for the coming months are associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon.
Hass avocados from Mexico can be imported in containers, provided that they come certified as fruit containers that are free from the sunspot disease or from areas certified as free.
The proposal put forward by the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) to the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures at the WTO, where the conflict between Costa Rica and Mexico is being resolved, establishes that the fruit may be imported in any of three circumstances: the fruit is sent with a certificate that guarantees that it does not have sunspot, with a certificate that comes from areas free of the disease, or where there is compliance with rules agreed bilaterally by the two countries.
Following the same strategy that they used to block the entry of Mexican avocados, in Costa Rica local producers of the fruit now want to prevent imports coming in from Peru.
Producers from the Los Santos area say that the avocados entering the country from Peru are contaminated with the Sunblotch plague, and asked the State Phytosanitary Service to close the Costa Rican market to the Peruvian fruit.
The latest discovery of drugs in a container of Costa Rican heart of palms which was destined for Europe, brings back to the table the problem of the lack of controls in customs offices.
The problem also centers around the fact that the different authorities contradict each other when it comes to explaining who carries out the processes for the inspecting containers entering and leaving the country and how.
The government has announced that companies certified as Authorized Economic Operators will have access to faster foreign trade procedures.
Companies interested in achieving this logistical facility in the trade of their products should register voluntarily as Authorized Economic Operators (OAS).
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture:
There only remains a technical visit to be made by Chinese authorities in order to complete the evaluation process and start exporting pineapples to China.
Estimates by the SFE indicate that there are 20 companies interested in exporting pineapples to China.
Abel Chaves, president of the National Chamber of Producers and Exporters of Pineapple (Canapep), told Elfinancierocr.com that"...'Before thinking about production volumes we have to think about how much demand will grow, the pricing scheme that the market will have and the logistics to get the product there.But the answer to whether we can make the cut is yes.'"
Importers could assume the cost of a laboratory test to determine the absence of the sunblotch disease so that the SFE can authorize entry into the country.
The proposal was raised by the SFE in a meeting held with Mexican authorities in late February.
Randall Benavides, president of the Chamber of Exporters and Importers of Perishables, told Nacion.com that"...
In Costa Rica since the government suspended imports of Mexican avocados in May 2014, the average wholesale price of the fruit went up by 19% in 2015 and 16% last year.
Since the country stopped the imports of mexican avocados because of the alleged presence of the sunblotch plague, the price of this fruit in the local market has kept on rising.Although avocados are now imported from seven different countries, total imports have fallen 25% since then, and the average price has recorded since then an annual increase of 18%.
The European Union still has doubts over the presence of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in plants of the Phoenix variety and has rejected the request to allow their re-entry from Costa Rica.
In a meeting in which producers and exporters of ornamentals did not participate, the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) put forward the"...
The departure of the director of the SFE could improve dialogue between authorities and agribusiness after months of confrontation over the imposition of non tariff barriers.
In a statement issued by the Ministry, the chief Luis Felipe Arauz said 'I, as Minister, asked her to resign.It is absolutely false that the deputy minister signed any certificates that were not inspected.She asked for, and I supported, a return to the system of inspections in packing plants and in the field, in this way strengthening controls in order to improve the issue of INTs in pineapples'."
Nacion.com reports that "...From yesterday afternoon, explained Arauz, controls on pineapple exports at the port were suspended and measures were streamlined in order to reinforce SFE staff carrying out inspections in the field with six officials from the MAG as well as a plan to train inspectors from companies in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture. "
In relation to the conflict over the ban on imports of avocados from Mexico, the minister was clear that the situation remains the same."...After repeating several times that the dispute was only on the issue of changes in pineapple controls, minister Arauz said that support is being maintained for other controversial measures taken by the now former director of the SFE, such as the issue of Hass avocados."
Pineapple exporters claim to have lost $2.3 million since the authorities started making additional inspections of containers at ports of departure.
Arguing that in April an increased presence of insects was detected in containers of pineapples exported to the United States, the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) has tightened control measures, which are no longer limited to inspections on farms and packing plants, but also include an extra inspection at ports of departure.
The ban on Mexican avocado has led to an increase in imports from Chile, raising its wholesale price by more than 30%, and will cause shortages when locally produced supplies have been exhausted.
Protectionism for the Costa Rican production of avocados introduced by the Solis administration, arguing phytosanitary measures, achieved results that benefited local producers, such as increasing the price of the product and a decline in import volumes (13,061 tons in 2013 vs . 11,187 in 2015). But what is good for the local producer, is bad for consumers who are forced to pay more for the fruit, as well as seeing their right to choose what to consume violated, and eventually being prevented from simply consuming anything at all because there is no supply.
This year 18 different species of citrus fruit came into the country from Uruguay among them oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit and different hybrids for fresh consumption.
From a statement issued by the State Phytosanitary Service in Costa Rica:
The State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), conducted a Risk Analysis for Pests (ARP by its initials in Spanish) for opening the market to citrus fruits from Uruguay and will soon finalize the corresponding notifications to allow import of a variety of these fruits into the country.