Entrepreneurs charging against the government, happy local producers and a minister that gives avocados to an international chain have been some of the ingredients this week in the unusual war that the restrictions on the importation of Hass avocados has created in Costa Rica.
On Thursday, the Minister of Communications, Mauricio Herrera, surprised everybody when he bought Creole avocados at San Jose and then gave them away to a Subway local food chain, which hours earlier had announced the withdrawal of the fruit from their menu because of shortages.
"I bought very good avocados at the Rotonda de la Hispanidad and paid three thousand (colones, around US $2). I took them to the Subway restaurant chain that is 100 meters away and that said they didn’t offer avocados because there was a shortage," Herrera wrote on his Facebook profile.
"Of course, I gave the avocados to the restaurant manager, who treated me with great kindness," said the minister, who denied there was a shortage.
Herrera, who also posted pictures of the event, said the country was importing Hass avocados from countries such as Peru and that the "Creole avocados are in season and the harvest of Costa Rican Hass avocados will begin soon."
Costa Rica has applied restrictions on the importation of Hass avocados from Australia, Spain, Ghana, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela and the state of Florida, in the United States, since May due to the risk posed by the sunblotch plague.
"The minister is clearly ignorant about the quality of Hass avocados and national avocado," said the legal adviser of the Chamber of Exporters of Perishables (CEIPPCR) Jonathan Picado.
"Minister Herrera also forgets what is meant by the safety and health standards that the restaurant chains have, especially when they are distinguished by their quality products. They do not buy avocados in the street, without any prior monitoring," Picado said.
Other business groups led by the Chamber of Food Industry and the Chamber of Exporters and Importers, have accused the government of President Luis Guillermo Solis of promoting a policy of trade restrictions for various products.
One of the most critical was the Mexico-Costa Rica Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CICOMEX), which stated that 12,000 of the 15,000 annual tons of Hass avocados consumed in Costa Rica come from Mexico, a country affected by the restriction.
According to this chamber, Costa Rica has been importing the fruit from Mexico for 20 years and there has never been a problem and no basis for the restriction.
Meanwhile, local avocado producers have applauded the restriction measure applied by the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) because they believe that it protects Costa Rican production, which is the livelihood for nearly a thousand families.
In a brief tour of the streets and supermarkets in San Jose, it is easy to find locally produced avocados.
"There are plenty of good avocados and they are cheap. We invite everyone to buy the Costa Rican avocado", said Alcides Moraga, a vendor that sells this fruit produced in Orotina, one of the largest communities in local production, in the streets of the capital.
Even though this fruit is not considered a staple food, it is very common in the diet of Costa Ricans as it is used in various dishes served in bars and restaurants, including the popular chifrijo, also consisting of rice, beans, pork and tomato.
Virtually all fast food chains used this fruit in some dishes, not to mention the numerous restaurants serving Mexican and Peruvian food.
The conflict has sparked the imagination of users of social networks who have created Facebook profiles and sarcastic hashtags promoting "avocados donation" to the food chains affected by the shortages.
On Wednesday, President Solis sent a letter to various business chambers, in which he said his government was respectful of free enterprise and that the restrictions applied by the SFE were justified and consistent with their duties and responsibilities.
Source: Efe