Costa Rican banana plantation shuts down

The Cooperativa de Trabajadores Bananeros del Sur (Coopetrabasur) is to transfer 115ha of a banana plantation in southern Costa Rica to a different crop, according to Costa Rican newspaper La Nación.

As a result of low revenues, the co-operative will now cultivate palm trees on the land.

Ronald Cardenas, Coopetrabasur's general manager, said high global demand made producing palm oil a safer bet.

Carnadas told La Nacion that, because some of its fruit is Fairtrade certified, it is more expensive.

Coopertrabasur's competition also tends to be closer to Costa Rica's ports: “The plantations in the Caribbean are a mere 45 minutes from the harbour, while it takes us ten to 12 hours to reach the nearest port.”