Costa Rican pineapple and banana exports are falling due to high costs

Exports of pineapple and banana, two of Costa Rica's top three exports, declined in 2022 due to uncertainty in the international market and high production costs. Both sectors have been affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine, but banana the most. From January through November, banana exports fell from $692.1 million in 2021 to $672.5 million in 2022 (the figures for April, May and June are not included in the statistics due to a hack of the Treasury Department). The value of pineapple exports went from $666.7 million (2021) to $655.8 million (2022) in the first eleven months of the year. Between 2021 and 2022, banana exports decreased by 145,000 tons (-8.86%). Pineapple sold only 19,700 tons (-1.63%). According to the most recent Monthly Index of Economic Activity (IMAE) of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, increases in the prices of imported commodities, such as fertilizers, led to a decrease in the yield of both fruits. Jorge Sauma, director of Corbana, the national banana ...