Three neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing plants and cereals have been banned because they are considered harmful to bees.
Prensa.com reports that "the products in question are clothianidin and imidacloprid, produced by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, manufactured by the Swiss firm Syngenta, who has appealed against the ban before the European Court."
In the European Union the maximum level of perchlorate in fruits and vegetables is 0.5 mg / kg, and 0.2 mg / kg in citrus fruits, tubers, grapes, spinach, melons and watermelons.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health of the European Union has agreed to set maximum permitted levels of perchlorate in food and has asked all member states of the European Union and traders to monitor compliance with these standards, especially in the case of fruits and vegetables from greenhouses.
In 2012 the country imported $232.5 million worth of fertilizers, a decrease of 6% compared to last year.
CentralAmericaData released its fertilizers imports report for 2012 in Costa Rica. Data includes by CIF totals, Average Weight and Prices, Product Description, Importer, Brands, Countries of Origin, Customs and Import Regimes.
Within this sector, imports of mineral or chemical fertilizers were the only ones that experienced an increase in 2012, up 3% compared to 2011.
The European Commission has decided to restrict the use of three pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after having verified that they are harmful to bees.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The European Commission (EC) decided to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after finding that these are harmful to bees.
Price increases of between 10 and 15% are estimated in a market distorted by unexpected arrivals of shipments from Venezuela.
In 2012, prices could be between 10% and 15% higher. This year was no exception to the fluctuations, with the prices at the beginning of the year being up, then down, and at the moment prices are again rising, said Orontes Lacayo, president of the Nicaraguan Association of Formulators and Agrochemical Distributors (ANIFODA).
The United States has zero tolerance for the presence of chemicals like carbendazim, detected in two shipments of orange juice exported from Costa Rica.
The fungicide is used to fight orange fungus. News of the rejection of these two shipments was published on the U.S. government’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website on April 5 and on a bulletin at the Nasdaq stock market.
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012.
ECLAC, FAO and IICA press release:
San Jose, Costa Rica, October 21 (ECLAC/FAO/IICA). Despite the current context of volatility and high food prices, in the long term, the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by having available land - albeit concentrated in a few countries- a relative abundance of water, biodiversity and well-educated human resources.
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012.
ECLAC, FAO and IICA press release:
San Jose, Costa Rica, October 21 (ECLAC/FAO/IICA). Despite the current context of volatility and high food prices, in the long term, the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by having available land - albeit concentrated in a few countries- a relative abundance of water, biodiversity and well-educated human resources.
Starting November, regulations will allow lower limits for the agrochemical known as Ethepon.
0.5 ppm will be the new maximum, which still needs approval from the European Parliament.
"This new limit will be valid for a year, while the European Food Safety authority makes further evaluations...", said spokespersons from the Costa Rican Phytosanitary Service, to website Elfinancierocr.com.
The European Union has maintain the residue levels for Ethepon agrochemical on pineapples, thereby eliminating the uncertainty that reigned since March.
Ethepon is an agrochemical that is used to help with ripening and the final color of pineapples that are exported.
The maximum limits were at 2 milligrams per kilo. In March, the EU announced that it was revising those levels and there was the possibility of a reduction to 0.05 milligrams per kilo.