Many exporters are feeling optimistic after the departure of the first shipment of pineapples to China, so they are now pressing the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to obtain phytosanitary permits so they can sell melons and dehydrated fruits.
The United States is Costa Rica's main buyer of melons, followed by the Netherlands, UK, Italy, and Belgium, but now entrepreneurs are looking at the opportunities they might have in China.
The approval of permits by China is a true quagmire for some countries because of the endless procedures, as well as for the sanitary and quality requirements.
"A bilateral protocol between the two parties is required and China needs to send inspectors to the plantations to see if they meet the requested quality and sanitary standards," said Marco Vinicio Jimenez, director of the State's Phytosanitary Service.
Once the sanitary permits have been approved, the World Trade Organization has to be notified so that the member countries know that this trade is taking place.
"The pace with which China has opened the market to various Costa Rican products provokes envy in other countries," said Tang Heng, the country's new Chinese ambassador, who acknowledged that the market had a huge needs for agricultural products. The country's main problem, the diplomat said, is the lack of production and logistics, as products could take 25 days or more to arrive to China, which makes it difficult to transport perishable goods.
"We are looking towards that big market; However, the sector has years of being limited from the phytosanitary point of view by the delay of registration of new molecules to have a more efficient, ecological and sustainable control. This makes us less competitive than other countries," said Agustin Penon, president of the National Chamber of Producers and Exporters of Melon and Watermelon.
We need to improve our roads and port infrastructure (which has very high costs) and presents problems in maintaining the quality of perishable products, taking into account the distance with China.
Melon producers say that China has several strengths, as it is a potential market with of over one billion consumers and has a high growth in production. In addition Costa Rica has had diplomatic relations with China for ten years and a Free Trade Agreement in force.
While the United States market is leaning more towards protectionism, China is betting on promoting free trade with its support to initiatives such as the Asia Pacific Regional Integral Economic Partnership.
"The Chinese market is an interesting opportunity for any of Costa Rica's food products, but transportation logistics are complicated. We are working on varieties that have a longer post harvest life and are looking for the proper handling, temperature, humidity and ventilation conditions," said Ricardo Garron, manager of Melones del Sol.
Getting to China alone is practically impossible, which is why exporters recommend doing it in groups. Exporters need to look for allies, just like the pineapple exporters did with producer organizations and by participating in fairs and exhibitions.
There is a working group called the Asia Committee, which involves entrepreneurs and institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Foreign Trade Promoter and the MAG, which aims to create synergies among all those companies wishing to expand their business in China.
This group provided support to the 20 companies that are already exporting pineapples to China and, above all, to the ones that made their first sales in June: Upala Agricola, Grupo Acon, and Productos Agropecuarios Visa.
Pros and cons
The leaders of the different business groups agree on the advantages of exporting to China, but they also point out that there are vulnerabilities that need to be improved.
Source: larepublica.net