SAN JOSÉ: The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Luis Felipe Arauz, de-legitimised an agreement made between the private sector and the Government in a meeting held at the Presidential Palace on 20 October, intended to create a technical panel devoted to analysing the issue of the closure of the Costa Rican market to Hass avocado imports from Mexico.
The agreement was announced that day by the President of the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (Cacia), José Manuel Hernando, on behalf of the business sector.
Arauz affirmed that the decisions of that technical team could not be binding for the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), which was responsible for defining the market’s closure to Mexican avocado imports last May, arguing that there was a threat of the entry of sunblotch disease.
In addition to the conflict with the private sector that resulted from this measure, Minister Arauz argues that the matter has gone to court at the request of the companies concerned and will have to be resolved there.
Arauz added that the agreement was reached without him being present, since he was in Mexico at the meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA). He noted that other government officials who were at the meeting did not have enough information because the avocado issue was being handled by him personally with the entrepreneurs.
The local avocado market reached a good balance in recent weeks, since the fruit is imported from Peru and Chile.
The head of the MAG said that before the meeting of 20 October he had already told entrepreneurs that the debate would be held in court, where they themselves had presented it.
Since Hernando was travelling on that Wednesday afternoon out of the country, the executive vice president of Cacia, Mario Montero, said it would be the second time Arauz does not admit any technical recommendations on the issue of avocados.
He assured that the goal of this specialised group is to give scientific recommendations that can lead to the SFE changing its decision or considering a more flexible measure than just closing the market. Never, he explained, was it assumed that the observations were mandatory or binding, as only the SFE has that power.
Montero said that a broad representation of the Government present at the meeting held on 20 October supported the idea of a technical team analysing the case and submitting recommendations. No one objected, reiterated Montero.
The entrepreneur added that the Ministries of the Presidency, Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) and Foreign Trade (Comex) have shown great openness to solve the issue and resume the import of Hass avocados from Mexico somehow. But, he emphasised, the MAG has shown little willingness in this regard.
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