Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) visited Costa Rica to carry out inspections in banana plantations and authorize the export of this product to its country, official sources recently reported.

The Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and a banana company interested in starting shipments received the Chilean group, who visited both the production and packaging sites.

In a four-day visit, the businessmen from the South American country reviewed the official national inspection and certification processes and made technical visits to the company's different production and packaging sites. “This visit is important for the banana packing and exporting sector as it will open a new market and increase the destinations for national bananas, said the head of the Pest Risk Analysis Unit of the State Phytosanitary Service, Erick Cedeño.

Costa Rica is one of the nations that exports bananas. Along with coffee and cocoa, bananas are an important agricultural export of Costa Rica that have a significant influence on the country's economy.

Currently, Costa Rica exports an average of 100 million boxes of bananas per year, representing 10 percent of world exports.