Last November Korea became the first Asian country to sign a FTA with all six Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras. Negotiations for the deal took 17 months but finally the countries came to an agreement.
The agreement, which will take effect as soon as the National Assembly approves it, will cut tariffs on more than 95 percent of goods.
Korea vowed that as part of the deal they would scrap tariffs on major export items from the region, including bananas, pineapples and mangoes and other items.
"In relation to commerce, fresh fruits, processed fruits, concentrate and fruit juices, as well as coffee and cocoa, are the main Costa Rican agricultural products that have a potential for export to Korea; a developed country with sophisticated and demanding consumers, requesting the highest standards of quality and security," Quiros said.
According to the Secretariat for Economic Integration (SIECA), trade between Central America and Korea maintained an average growth of 5 percent between 2005 and 2009. The figure increased to 11.7 percent between 2010 and 2014.
"During the last few years, the commercial balance between Central American countries and Korea has increased at 3.8 percent annually, the Costa Rican ambassador said. "After the FTA signing, we expect this to increase by about 70 percent."
