Costa Rica has updated the mandatory phytosanitary measures for imports, while in Guatemala protocols are being implemented in the fields where the fruit is harvested, because of the threat of Fusarium R4T disease.
Guatemala and Mexico have triggered a mechanism of "commercial concern" over restrictions on the importation of Hass avocado imposed by Costa Rica.
There will be a period of 60 days for Costa Rica to respond to the concerns presented by the delegations from Mexico and Guatemala in the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures at the World Trade Organization.
Dominican Republic and Central America have agreed to unify the regulations governing organic agriculture.
The policies are based on rules by Codex Alimentarius, created in 1963 by FAO and the WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as practices under the joint FAO / WHO Food Standard Program. The main purpose of the program is to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair trade practices as well as to promote coordination of food standards.
In the context of negotiations on the Central American Customs Union some changes have been agreed that will benefit farmers.
The text of the agreement, which will soon come into force in the countries in the region, certain unnecessary technical requirements have been removed that made the fertilizer register bureaucratic.
"In addition, regulations were incorporated that were needed to prevent soil amendments from being registered as fertilizers. Finally, concepts and parameters were specified to classify low concentration formulas, which do little to improve the region's productivity and are now being sold in various Central American countries," reports La Prensa Libre in its web portal.