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COSTA RICA |
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Costa Rica Bananas In Middle East For The
First Time
Corbana, the National Association of Banana
Producers of Costa Rica, is in Dubai for the
first time to explore business opportunities
in the Middle East on behalf of Costa Rican
producers.
Representatives from Corbana will take part
in the Eurofruit Congress Middle East, the
leading fresh produce event in the region,
taking place over the next three days.
Costa Rican producers are looking to
diversify their markets and now are
targeting the Middle East because of its
huge potential. This region is already the
fifth largest banana importing market in the
world. Annual banana imports have almost
tripled over the last decade, growing by
around 16% a year between 2001 and 2007,
from 257,000 tonnes to 737,000 tonnes.
According to Jorge Sauma, CEO of Corbana,
"There has been impressive growth in the
Middle East market to date, and banana
consumption per capita in this region still
remains well below the average in mature
markets such as Europe and the US. This
suggests significant potential for further
growth in the Middle East market over the
next decade."
While Costa Rica is the third largest
banana-exporting country in the world,
banana production uses less than 1% of the
country´s territory. Costa Rica has had the
world's highest yield per hectare in banana
production for 19 years, reaching a new
record for global exports worth $674.2m in
2008.
Costa Rica bananas are produced to the
highest standards by methods that respect
the environment and provide sustainable
social conditions for banana workers. 99% of
all Costa Rican banana plantations are
GlobalGap certified, for good agricultural
production practices, ISO 14001 certified
for respecting the environment and SA 8000
certified for compliance with social, work
place and human rights standards.
Via Corbana's support, Costa Rica is now
looking to remain one step ahead of the
industry by becoming the first carbon
neutral banana producer by 2014. Corbana is
also contributing to an international
research partnership aimed at reducing the
use of pesticides in banana farming by 50%
in 10 years.
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