European supermarkets are requesting a reduction in the purchase price of bananas from Latin America. According to a sector representative, if the proposal becomes effective, there would be direct economic effects on banana activity in Costa Rica, which involves 150,000 families and generates about $ 1,000 million annually in exports. The European Union (E.U.) is the leading destination of Costa Rican fruit, where 48% of the volume was placed in 2022. Banana exports generated $998 million last year, according to preliminary figures from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer), which includes information restored from the second quarter after the cyber-attack that affected the Ministry of Finance. The National Banana Corporation (Corbana) places foreign sales at $1.1 billion. Procomer data places bananas as the second agricultural product exported in 2022, after pineapple, although very close. However, with data as of October 2023, it ranked first, with an accumulated $982.2 million. Corbana reported that the site Reefer Trends, which specializes in international fruit trade, announced last December 8 the request of European supermarkets to cut 1.30 euros ($1.43) in the price of a box of bananas from 16.30 euros ($17.91) to 15 euros ($16.48).

Jorge Sauma, general manager of Corbana, told La Nación that the proposal of the European supermarkets threatens the banana activity since they must face the costs of the action, which the update of certifications has increased, the 7% wage adjustment to workers made at the beginning of the year and the depreciation of the colón against the dollar.

The most significant banana production in Costa Rica is in the province of Limón. Sauma estimates that the activity involves 150,000 families nationwide, being the main generator of jobs in marginal areas, he said.

Sauma explained that supermarkets have the highest profit margin in the chain of exportable fruit marketing, which involves producers, exporters, ripeners, and marketers. In addition, bananas are used by these stores as a price reference for the rest of the fruits since they are the only ones that are supplied throughout the year, unlike the others, which are seasonal.

For the representative of Corbana, placing bananas as a price reference is instead a distorting element since during the emergency caused by the pandemic covid-19, it was the product that grew less and now faces other risks, such as the installation of the El Niño climatic phenomenon, which is also directly related to the logistical situation of the Panama Canal.

Therefore, he considered that "it is not consistent" that European supermarkets want to lower the purchase price instead of increasing it. Sauma pointed out that, although it is a request for now, the proposal should not proceed because no Latin American country can face a price reduction. Other banana producers in the region are Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, and Mexico.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex), Manuel Tovar, said that in coordination with Corbana, they are working on public policy issues implemented by the countries buying the fruit and affecting the national banana sector. However, he pointed out that the definition of transaction prices is an eminently private matter, assuring that the entity's margin of action is limited.

Corbana's projections for the end of 2023 point to the export of 124 million boxes, generating more than $1.1 billion, like in 2022. Among the main destinations in the E.U. are Holland, Spain, Italy, and Belgium.