Costa Rica’s booth at Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit will feature a wealth of produce items aimed at helping U.S. marketers expand opportunities in key categories. Highlighted products include pineapple, yuca (cassava), banana, chayote, rambutan, squash and specialty root products such as eddoe, malanga, and ñame (yam).
The Costa Rica Pavilion is in Hall D, booth # 1175. “Costa Rica’s continuing reputation in the marketplace for high quality fruits and vegetables allows us to credibly expand our lines,” says Pedro Beirute, CEO of Procomer (Costa Rica’s trade promotion agency). “We look forward to showing even more of what our growers and exporters have to offer during Fresh Summit,” says Beirute. “We invite buyers to visit our stand to discover the wide variety of Costa Rican products. We will work with them individually to put together an agenda with each exporter.”
Exporters at the Costa Rica Pavilion this year include: Asociación de Productores Bioecologicos del Norte with pineapple and yuca; Tropicales del Valle with pineapple; Upala Agrícola with pineapple; Productos Agropecuarios Visa S.A. with pineapple, yuca, eddoes, malanga coco, and ñame; Exportaciones Michelle SM S.A. with pineapple; Piñales del Caribe GAC S.A with pineapple and banana; Piñas Cultivadas de Costa Rica S.A. with pineapple; Consorcio Chayotes with chayote, pineapple, pumpkin and eddoes; and Asofrobrunca with rambutan.
Costa Rica represents a strong legacy of agricultural and produce exports with significant market demand for many of its products. “Costa Rica’s ag sector represents 25% of the country’s total exports,” says Beirute. “The U.S. is our principal export partner for ag products and receives 45% of our ag exports.”
PROCOMER and the Costa Rican industry are focusing on a variety of areas to help increase the exportable offering in these products. “We help provide training, technology and certifications,” says Beirute. “At Fresh Summit, we are seeking out buyers and investors who want to work with us and our exporters to create an even more reliable supply source of these up and coming products for the future.”
