The directors of the Chamber of Industry and Trade, Costa Rica-Mexico (Cicomex) and of Costa Rican Consumers, assured today that the ban on Mexican Hass avocado imports violated the bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
This ban on avocado imports from Mexico directly affected consumers, as the fruit brought from other markets to supply the domestic consumption of a product that was already part of the Costa Rican basic basket increased prices, said the executive director of Cicomex, Santiago Aguilar.
"It deprived Costa Rican consumers from getting the best quality at a lower cost," said Aguilar in a report for Teletica news.
The Vice President of Costa Rican Consumers, Gilberto Campos, said that closing the border to Mexican avocado imports opened the market to avocado imports from Peru, Chile, and the Dominican Republic, among other places; and that domestic producers began to complain because now they were competing with three different rivals.
In addition to having disgruntled farmers, high prices for consumers, and low quality, Campos said, the country now faces a WTO procedure that jeopardizes Costa Rica's prestige.
The directors of these entities spoke about this situation because the Mexican government decided to formally present a case before the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Costa Rica due to the phytosanitary restrictions it imposed on avocado imports on May 2015.
Costa Rica imposed this measure to protect the country against a viroid that could affect their production, but Mexican authorities have stated that Costa Rica has failed to support that claim technically and scientifically.
Hence, they have accused San Jose of violating existing trade agreements.
Costa Rica will have 10 days to answer Mexico's allegations. If there is no satisfactory agreement, the WTO will create a panel to determine the legality of the restriction imposed by Costa Rica.
Source: prensa-latina.cu