Banana exports from Costa Rica have stagnated over the past three years. According to official data, exports range between 106 and 107 million 18.14 kilo cases.
Corbana still doesn't have all the data for 2013. However, estimates are that 106 million cases were sold abroad last year. The same amount as in 2011 and slightly less than in 2012, when exports amounted to 107 million boxes.
Last year's exports ranged between 820 million and 823 million dollars. An amount that is similar to that of 2012, when exports totalled 822.7 million dollars, but that is smaller than the 804.9 million dollars achieved in 2011.
According to Corbana's CEO, Jorge Sauma, and the president of Anapoban, Edgar Quiros, this stagnation is due to the slow recovery of international demand, especially from Europe, and the high competition from other producers such as Guatemala.
Quiros said that, four years ago, Guatemalan production amounted to nearly 60 million cases per year. However, the country's production has spiked and currently totals about 90 million boxes a year thanks to the incentives provided to the producers.
Regarding demand from Europe, he stated that in 2007, a year prior to the 2008 crisis, consumption amounted to more than twelve kilos per person. But, due to the crisis, consumption dropped to seven kilos per person and hasn't recovered.
Source: El Economista