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.
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.
With the entry into force of the tax reform, banana production costs in Nicaragua have increased between 30% and 35%, because of the rise in the price of agrochemicals.
Authorities of the South American country confirmed the presence of Fusarium R4T, in a limited area of 175 hectares in the department of Guajira.
Weeks ago, the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) reported that because of the suspicion of the fungus in Colombia, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) issued a resolution on June 25, which declares in phytosanitary quarantine the farm Don Marce, in the municipality of Riohacha in the department of La Guajira, for the presence of symptoms associated with the pest Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Raza 4 Tropical.
Following Panama's decision, the phytosanitary authorities in Guatemala and Costa Rica restricted the entry of banana and plantain-derived materials from any country because of the alert for the pest known as "wilt for fusarium.”
In the case of Guatemala, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) reported that as part of the protection and preservation of the regional agricultural heritage, the Guatemalan population and national banana and plantain producers were informed that Guatemala had activated prevention and warning measures to prevent the threat of Fusarium Oxysporum race 4 disease.
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