In Costa Rica businesses are demanding that the government focus less on the approval of new taxes and more on solving the problems of infrastructure and red tape.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA):
Energy, procedures, legal certainty and transparency in imports of raw materials, are the issues which the industry requires a clear policy on.
Mondelēz International is closing its operations causing businesses in the productive sector to reaffirm their concern over the country's loss of competitiveness.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry:
CACIA receives with concern news of Mondelez plant closure
May, 2016. The Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry (CACIA) reacted with concern to the news of the company Mondelez's closure of industrial operations in Costa Rica, where it manufactured traditional products which weighed heavily in Costa Rican exports.
Foreign sales in the first four months of the year totaled $467 million, below the $543 million generated from sales abroad in the same period in 2013.
The cost of electricity, changes in the exchange rate, the price of raw materials and competition from informal firms are part of the factors that explain part of the drop in foreign sales in this industry.
Loss of competitiveness in the region has been a constant factor in recent years due to problems in infrastructure, transportation and energy costs.
Although the sector's exports to Central America have maintained a relatively stable rate of growth, entrepreneurs say their products have lost competitiveness against the food industries in neighboring countries, due to the high costs of energy, transportation and infrastructure.
The nation's most important industry sees its presence in the market threatened by the increasing loss of competitiveness of the Costa Rican economy.
From a press release by the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA):
Mediocrity in Competitiveness Issues Suffocates Food Industry
• Costa Rica is ranked 97th among 148 countries in terms of infrastructure and 129 in the number of procedures required to start a business, according to world rankings.