The National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (CANAPEP), which comprises about 85% of the 43,000 hectares of pineapples in Costa Rica, has warned that “the appreciation of the colon over the dollar would put at risk about 30,000 direct and 120,000 indirect jobs, as well as the export of some 180 million boxes of pineapple and its derivatives, which generate more than one billion dollars a year in income for the country.”
CANAPEP and the Productive Sectors have asked the Government of the Republic and the Central Bank to activate the necessary mechanisms "to achieve a balance that favors the economic reactivation and competitiveness of the country and doesn't affect the generation of employment."
“The short-term exchange policies that the Government and the Central Bank are adopting are already having the expected negative effects on the production and competitiveness of our main export products. The reduction of planting programs (about 30%) forces companies to make layoffs. This will also affect other sectors that have links with the pineapple sector, such as cardboard manufacturers, carriers, technicians that repair machinery and equipment, supermarkets, etc. The economies of the regions where the production farms are will feel this negative impact in the short term. The effect of the measures being taken by the Government and the Central Bank will also be noticeable in the short term,” stated Abel Chaves; president of the Board of Directors of CANAPEP.
For now, it seems that only the productive sector is being affected by this crisis generated by the Central Bank's exchange rate policy. However, in the medium and long term, these measures will also affect social welfare institutions, such as the CCSS, local governments, and the country's institutionality, leading to an increase in unemployment and poverty in the regions with an agricultural vocation.
Source: sancarlosdigital.com