Costa Rica banana growers eye Middle East

CORBANA, the National Association of Banana Producers of Costa Rica, are targeting the Middle East because of its huge potential. This region is already the fifth largest banana importing market in the world. According to CEO Jorge Sauma, annual banana imports have almost tripled over the last decade, growing by around 16% a year between 2001 and 2007, from 257,000 tonnes to 737,000 tonnes. "There has been impressive growth in the Middle East market to date, and banana consumption per capita in this region still remains well below the average in mature markets such as Europe and the US. This suggests significant potential for further growth in the Middle East market over the next decade," Mr Sauma said at the Eurofruit Congress Middle East held last month in Dubai The world's third largest bananaexporting country uses less than 1% of the country's territory and has had the world's highest yield per hectare in banana production for 19 years, reaching a new record for global exports worth $674.2m in 2008. Costa Rican bananas are produced to the highest environmental, social and sustainable international standards. "We can offer a value-added product to the sophisticated Middle Eastern consumer by maintaining the high level of social, labour and environmental standards throughout the production process across our industry," said Mr Sauma.Cheap Nike Air Max 2017 For Online Sale