African palm, coffee, pineapple, bamboo, cocoa and forestry are the categories that the Nicaraguan government is promoting as investment opportunities in the Caribbean coast.
Noting that deforested areas are those that could house African palm plantations, Alvaro Baltodano, presidential delegate for investment and exports, noted that African palm is now being planted in 10 thousand acres of the Nicaraguan Caribbean, as part of a project that aims to plant 20 thousand acres.
In 2012/2013 1,751 hectares were planted but in 2014/2015 the figure was only 1,504, due to the incidence of drought, high production costs and falling international prices.
An article on Prensa.com reports that "... Diomedes Carrasco, producer in the area of La Chorrera, says a lot of farmers have stopped harvesting and exporting due to high production costs and low international prices"...
Colombian MD2 pineapple producers are negotiating with South Korea, Israel and the European Union in order to start exporting the product in 2015.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer):
Bengala Agrícola S.A.S. is a Colombian agricultural producer and exporter based in Cali, Valle del Cauca; one of the main drivers of economic development in Colombia.
During 2013, exports grew by 7% and the main destinations are still the U.S. and Europe.
During 2013 pineapple production increased by 7% compared to 2012, generating sales of $834 million. Fruit exports went from 2% of total goods exported in 2000 to 7.3% last year, according to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office(Procomer).
According to the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (Canapep), the USA is the main destination for Costa Rican fruit, where 50% of exports are shipped."The second biggest buyer is the EU zone where 47% is sold, followed by other countries such as Chile and some Caribbean islands. In addition, other markets are opening up in the Middle East. "
An announcement has been made of the creation of a trust for the refinancing of debts of SMEs producing pineapples in the Caribbean.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) will create a trust for $14 million intended to financially support some 376 pineapple growers. These resources represent an alternative to the crisis faced by some micro, small and medium producers of fruit.
The Costa Rican pineapple sector wants to consolidate the presence it has gained in major international markets.
It is negotiating with the Foreign Trade Promotion Office the terms needed to create a brand for the country in the next few months, which they hope will help maintain the explosive volume that has been exported.
"In just a decade, exports increased from $158 million in 2002, to reach a peak of $789 million in 2012, an increase of 400% making this fruit the number agricultural shipment above bananas and coffee," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
Climate problems, lack of market and the elimination of the 'Certificado de Fomento de Agroexportaciones ' (Certificate for Development of Agroexports) have caused production to fall by 50%.
"Pineapple production has declined, even though it generates a larger amount of labor than grain production," said Ricardo Garcia, spokesman for producers of pineapple and cucurbits in Chiriqui, the Central Provinces and La Chorrera.
A provisional ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica has overturned a city ordinance banning the cultivation of pineapple, which aimed to prevent the activity's environmental impact.
Nacion.com reports that "The Fourth Chamber has ruled in favor of an appeal filed by the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (Canapep) against the decision of the Municipality of Pococí declaring a moratorium on the planting of this fruit in the territory of this canton. The ruling overturned the municipal agreement, taken on March 12, 2012, thereby reopening pineapple cultivation in Guápiles and its surrounding areas "
Growers expect production to recover during 2013, to place their products on the U.S. market.
Taking advantage of the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) between Panama and the U.S., growers in this country expect better results during 2013, after considerable crop losses during 2012 due to heavy rainfall.
According to Alexis Bravo, president of the Group of Nontraditional Agricultural Exporters in Panama (Grantrap), a good year is expected for Cucurbitaceae, as there have been no rains so far 2013, allowing for a projected increase in the harvest of watermelon, squash and melons.
The government has announced it will buy high-yield seeds from Costa Rican worth $2 million to start the cultivation of pineapple in large areas.
According to an article in Elnacional.com.do the director of the Special Fund for Agricultural Development (FEDA), Antonio Lopez, said that as part of the preparations for the start of a large scale pineapple cultivation project, a delegation of technicians from the sector traveled to Costa Rica to observe and evaluate the product varieties to be grown in a venture that will benefit hundreds of families.
The Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office has announced opportunities in the Chilean market.
A statement from the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
There is an opportunity to supply organic bananas and pineapples to a Chilean supermarket chain, for a period of one year with a possible extension of the contract.
For more details contact Alexander Roman, promoter of agriculture, whose email address is aroman@procomer.com
A group of environmental organizations renewed their complaints about the environmental and social impact of the expansion of pineapple cultivation in Costa Rica.
Since 2007 Costa Rica has held the title of the world's leading exporter of pineapples. Producer’s expectations are to maintain "export growth of between 8% and 10%." Pineapples, along with bananas and coffee, represent 78% of the exports of the entire agricultural sector.
There is still an insatiable demand for growing pineapples, which has meant that Costa Rica’s export volume has been multiplied by 4 in the last 10 years.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com quotes Abel Chaves, president of the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (Canapep) who says: "If the market is demanding more pineapples, then we will plant more pineapples".
Panamanian agroexporters could lose $3 million because of the bankruptcy of a Dutch company to whom they sold their production for 2011-2012.
The companies Exportadores de Azuero, Fénix Business and Expo Latinas, up until today have not been able to get paid for the production of nearly 500 acres of melons and watermelons sent to the European market, said Alexis Bravo, president of the Union of Nontraditional Agricultural Exporters (Grantrap).
Environmental Regulations and Social Practice have been issued by the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters of Costa Rica.
The Social and Environmental Management System for Sustainable Production of Pineapple (SG-PSP) is the standard of good environmental and social practices, to carry out the Environmental Responsibility Commitment, established by Canapep on June 5, 2008.
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