Standard Fruit Company closes two banana farms in Costa Rica due to dollar decline

The Standard Fruit Company announced this Tuesday the closure of two banana farms in Costa Rica and the dismissal of 111 workers due to the depreciation of the dollar against the local currency.

The company indicated in a statement that the farms are located in Limón (Caribbean) province and that workers were paid their respective compensation and some were offered work on other farms or on temporary contracts.

The statement said, “It seems that the central bank is taking into account employment neither in the productive sector nor in the agricultural sectors and no action has been taken to balance what is happening, while There are tools available to combat it.” Signature.

The company runs fruit production and export operations in Costa Rica that employ 8,000 people directly and 50,000 indirectly.

The company assured that the dollar situation in Costa Rica is creating a lack of competition in the productive sector, which other competing countries are taking advantage of.

In recent months, various productive sectors have called on the government and the central bank to take action to stabilize the dollar exchange rate, which has fallen by mid-2022 to values ​​not seen for more than a decade .

The dollar reached its peak on July 1, 2022 when it traded at 693.69 colones, but since then it began to decline and reached 516.86 at the end of January 2024, representing a variation of 25%.

This Tuesday the dollar is trading at 521.79 colones.

Other sectors that have complained about the appreciation of the colon in relation to the dollar are the National Chamber of Tourism, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, industrial entrepreneurs and others in the agricultural sector.

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chávez has said the situation reflects the strength of the economy and the local currency, while Central Bank President Roger Madrigal has defended the entity’s monetary policy and also assured that the exchange rate reflects market realities. Reflects. efe