Coopetrabasur, a banana plantation in the south of Costa Rica initiated by former employees of transnational companies, has decided to shut down one of its operations due to low revenues. Its goal now is to keep up existing capacity by cultivating different crop elsewhere.
The designated area of 115 ha will be cultivated with palm trees. According to Ronald Cardenas, general manager of Cooperativa de Trabajadores Bananeros del Sur (Coopetrabasur), producing palm oil is a safer bet, considering large global demand for the product.
Carnadas said the corporation sells part of its fruit under the ‘Fair Trade’ certificate, making the bananas slightly more expensive. About the competition he added: “The plantations in the Caribbean are a mere 45 minutes from the harbour, while it takes us 10 to 12 hours to reach the nearest port.” These factors combined to make the present enterprise unsustainable.
Source: La Nación