From January to June 2020, banana exports amounted to 1,403 million, 14% more than what was reported for the same period in 2019, a rise that can be explained by the sales behavior of Honduran, Costa Rican, Panamanian and Guatemalan companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
Since 2018, the price of the banana box that Costa Rican producers sell to the German supermarket chain ALDI is falling, there is concern that other European chains will begin to negotiate lower prices.
Representatives of the National Banana Corporation of Costa Rica (Corbana) explained that in 2018 the 18.14 kilo banana box sold to ALDI was quoted at 13.55 Euros. However, in 2019 and 2020 the amount paid for the fruit was reduced, and by 2021 a price of 11.33 euros has been set, which is equivalent to a -16% variation with respect to what was charged in 2018.
Due to the possible change in the regulations established by the European Union on the use of agrochemicals in the production of the fruit that enters their territory, exporters in the region are on the alert for the possible complications that this would generate in the commercialization.
In order to protect the health of consumers, European authorities could vary the maximum residue limits (MRL's) that food entering the region may contain.
In this context of sanitary crisis, banana companies in Costa Rica must ensure the cleaning and disinfection, at least twice a day, of all surfaces and spaces that are considered critical.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) recently approved the protocol for the prevention of covid-19 in the banana sector, which contemplates the preventive and mitigation actions that producers of this fruit for export must comply with to avoid the spread of the disease.
Although several companies have been affected by the measures implemented by governments in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, Costa Rican exports of coffee, pineapple and bananas have so far not faced difficulties with logistics.
Directors of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (Icafé) indicated that so far there have been no problems with the availability of containers and that sales abroad are proceeding normally.
Congress approved a decree obliging the Ministry of Agriculture to fumigate banana and plantain plantations.
Decree 7-2020 approved the Law for the Protection of Banana and Plantain Crops in the Republic of Guatemala, a law that, in addition to protecting banana crops, also promotes the economic development of the banana sector, Congress reported in a press release.
In the first nine months of 2019, Central American companies recorded $1.87 billion in banana exports, and sales to Italy grew 9% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
The government decreed that starting January 1, 2020, banana exporters in Costa Rica will pay local producers a minimum price of $8.36 per 18.14 kilo box.
The authorized increase will be $0.67 per box of 18.14 kilos, from $7.69 to $8.36 for each package sold abroad, reported the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).
In the first six months of 2019, Central American companies recorded $590 million in banana exports, and sales to the Netherlands grew 36% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
The Costa Rican government and producers signed an agreement that establishes that any government agency may request resources to carry out national and international activities to prevent or combat any pest that affects banana crops.
Guatemalan producers report that their profit margins have been reduced because the threat of the Fusarium R4T pest has forced them to increase their spending on phytosanitary measures and crop biosecurity.
In the first three months of 2019, Central American countries recorded $590 million in banana sales abroad, 6% less than reported in the same period of 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
After the presence of the pest Fusarium R4T in Colombia was confirmed, in Costa Rica the producers' guild asked the authorities to decree a national state of emergency to prevent the entry of the disease into the country.
If the international prices of bananas, coffee, sugar and palm oil do not improve, and if combined with a global economic recession, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador could stop exporting as much as $2.268 million altogether in 2021.
According to the report "Proceso de integración Centroamericana del Triángulo Norte: Escenarios de riesgo en la matriz de exportación" (Central American Integration Process of the Northern Triangle: Risk Scenarios in the Export Matrix), prepared by the Asociación de Investigación de Estudios Sociales (Asíes), garment making is another activity that could be affected in the coming years.
In the first half of 2019, sales abroad totaled $443 million, 20% more than the amount reported in the same period last year.
The latest data from the General Comptroller of the Republic, detail that between the first half of 2018 and 2019 exports increased from $371 million to $443 million, an increase that is partially explained by the behavior of sales of bananas and waste steel, copper and aluminum.
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