- Published: Monday, February 10, 2020-
Costa Rican farmers seek
to export more to Europe
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rican farmers and exporters hoped to attract more European buyers of their products by participating in the international fair of agriculture FruitLogistica 2020, which took place last week in Germany.
According to Costa Rica's Export Promotion Agency, PROCOMER, there were stands of 3,200 exporters from other countries at the fair and an estimate of more than 78,000 visitors.
The Costa Rican stand showed folk illustrations of the country as well as agricultural products such as pineapple, banana, roots, among others.
The Costa Rican companies promoted at the fair were Tropifoods S.A., Verita Tropicals Costa Rica, Jalaram Fruit, Exportagri, Fertynic, ByC Exportadores, Barvatex de Heredia S.A., Chestnut Hill Farms, Pineapple Hills, Agricultural Products VISA, Total Fruit, Agricultural Products Del Campo and Michelle Exports.
According to the agency, this is the 20th occasion in which the country participated in this fair.
According to statistics provided by PROCOMER, in 2019, agricultural products accounted for 24% of total exports in Costa Rica, which equaled $ 2.7 billion. Some of the products that increased exports were cassava 11%, watermelon 21% and mango 52%, among others.
The goal of participation in fair's was to get new buyers, said the promotional agency. "For example, the participation of the previous year allowed exports of mangoes to Germany, as well as roots and tubers to Spain."
This is the second international fair this month in Germany, where Costa Rican companies sought to for increasing exports.
In the last days of January PROCOMER displayed the ornamental tropical plants of the country at the IPM Essen fair in Germany.
The agency promotes national plant exporters companies, such as Micro Plants, Coope India, Servicios Agricolas S.A., Orplant, Ornamental Río Molino, CAMPCO, Ornamental Sapo Verde, Sembrarte CR and Green Pack Solutions.
According to the agency, the IPM fair in Germany annually receives about 54,000 visitors from 45 countries and displays than 1,500 stands from around the world.
Representatives of Costa Rican companies met with potential buyers from Germany, Holland, Russia, England, Spain, Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Singapore, Chile, Canada and the United States, said the agency.
"The IPM Essen fair allows entrepreneurs to approach the markets of interest and generate contacts in new places, as well as improve existing businesses," said Álvaro Piedra from PROCOMER.
During the fair, approximately 25 business meetings were held for each company at the stand of the country that carried the Essential Costa Rica brand.
"Here we see customers from all over the world, and we have seen that customers, who originally bought through importers, are raising their purchase volumes, having the opportunity to buy directly from the Costa Rican producers," said José Joaquín Heinrich, commercial manager of Servicios Agricolas S.A.
According to the data provided by the agency in 2018, Costa Rica exported around $130 million in flowers and foliage, mainly to the markets of the United States, Holland and Belgium. Exports were made by 150 companies.
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What may be an appealing Costa Rican agriculture product for European consumers? We would like to know your thoughts on
this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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