San Jose "Costa Rica Today" reported on April 7 that the first free trade agreement between Costa Rica and China was signed on April 8, 2010 and entered into force on August 1, 2011. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Trade said recently that on the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, Costa Rica is negotiating with the Chinese government on the “Protocol on Plant Inspection, Quarantine and Sanitary Conditions” to expand exports of agricultural products.
Minister of Foreign Trade Andrés Valenciano reviewed the achievements of Costa Rica’s trade with China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) in the past 10 years: “Since 2011, the export value of Costa Rica’s agricultural sector to mainland China has increased. The total export value has increased by about 8 times, and the total export value has increased by more than three times. In the past 10 years, the total bilateral trade between the two countries has exceeded 2.2 billion US dollars, and the free trade agreement has played an important role in this process. For Colombia-China trade In other words, the free trade agreement is a flexible tool and will continue to evolve according to the changes in the business environment of the two countries.”
Costa Rican Exporters Association (CADEXCO) Chairman Laura Bonilla (Laura Bonilla) told the Ministry of Foreign Trade data Agreed, but she still pointed out that there is still room for improvement in the economic exchanges between Colombia and China. On the one hand, there is currently no direct port from Costa Rica to mainland China, and the transit time for ships is quite long, with an average of 37 days, which greatly increases logistics costs. On the other hand, Costa Rica should also attract direct investment from China through the free trade zone to create jobs and promote technology transfer.
The Costa Rica Trade Promotion Commission (Procomer) agreed with Bonilla’s point of view and stated that the CCPIT has communicated with different shipping companies in order to open a direct flight route. At the same time, the Port of Caldera (Puerto de Caldera) has also been modernized. Great progress has been made, which will promote it to become a competitive and attractive port. At the same time, since the end of 2016, the Chinese government has introduced policies to encourage the import of shrimp, whey, blueberries and other foods. This is a good opportunity for Costa Rica to expand exports. As long as the logistics conditions improve, Costa Rica can expand exports of related products.
(Source: China Trade News)
