pineapples

China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (Aqsiq) has signed phytosanitary protocols that will allow Costa Rican pineapple and tuna imports into the country.

Aqsiq minister Zhi Shuping and a delegation of high-level Aqsiq officials also met with Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade Alexander Mora to discuss opportunities for other Costa Rican products to be exported to China.

The news comes following a decline in demand for pineapples in Costa Rica’s major export markets of the US and the Netherlands, with total pineapple exports falling in the first five months of the year.

China is one of Costa Rica’s leading trade partners, with Costa Rican exports to China increasing 7.6 per cent between 2004 and 2014 to US$338.3m.