The volume of domestic pineapple exports decreased by 11% this year as a result of 500 small producers quitting this culture and an excess in rains in the northern areas and the Caribbean since July 2014.
The bankruptcy of small pineapple producers generated a fall of nearly 5,000 hectares in the area planted with pineapples in Costa Rica.
According to Abel Chaves, President of the National Chamber of producers and exporters of pineapple (Canapep), and Fernando Vargas, director of the Ministry of agriculture and livestock (MAG) in the Huetar Norte Region, pineapple production wasn't sustainable in small areas because of the high costs of production, the stability in the value of the dollar, the lack of competitiveness, and the excessively rainy weather.
The small producers that were growing pineapple had to change their crops mainly for tubers, root vegetables, pepper and dual purpose livestock, said Vargas.
Impact
According to the Promoter of Foreign Trade (Procomer), the value of pineapple exports fell from $529 million in the first seven months of 2014 to $479 million during the same period from 2015.
The export volume also decreased, as it went from 1.25 million tons between January and July 2014 to 1.11 million tons in the same period of this year.
Planted area and fall in volume
Chaves and Vargas stated that two years ago, the planted area reached a peak of 45,000 hectares. With the departure of about 500 small producers, they added, the area fell and currently stands at nearly 38,000 hectares.
According to data from the VI national agricultural census, there are currently 37,659 hectares devoted to pineapple crops.
The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) stated that they still had not published data regarding the number of producers for each activity.
According to the census, 91% of the total area devoted to pineapple (34,311 hectares) lies in big scale farms with more than 100 hectares.
These farms are just 108 of the 1,228 farms growing pineapple. The remaining 1,120 farms have a smaller extension.
Vargas and Chaves agreed that the problems of the sector are not widespread, but only affect some of the producers.
In revenues, pineapple is Costa Rica's second most important agricultural export product, only behind bananas. In 2014, pineapple exports amounted to $865 million while banana exports totalled $905 million, according to Procomer. The pineapple sector employs 27,000 people.
Due to the pineapple boom cultivation was extended to several areas, such as the Central Pacific. Pedro Martinez and Heinner Villalobos cultivated the fruit in an estate of the Banacol Company, in Chomes, province of Puntarenas. The production of large business remains normal.
The trend will continue
Canapep estimated that the reduction in exports would continue at least until mid 2016, as a recovery in areas would only be felt a year after the crops have been planted.
In addition, the recovery in area and production will be slow. Vargas recalled that, between 2000 and 2006, there was a very strong growth, as it was a period in which producers of other crops started producing pineapple and some people who had never been farmers joined the activity.
Profitability – he added – was between 80% and 100% per hectare, which increased its appeal. There were new entrepreneurs dedicated to buying, packing and exporting the fruit; there were many buyers.
However, Vargas continued, the crisis of 2008 changed the landscape: demand fell and small producers neglected their farms. In addition, they ceased paying debts, which led to the creation of a trust in the Rural Development Institute (Inder) to buy those amounts.
Expectations are pineapple production for juices, organic pineapple and fair trade fruits will rebound in the future. For this reason, the National Insurance Institute and the Costa Rican Association of Organizations for Development (Acorde) opened credits to finance the conversion of small producers.
