Costa Rica's pineapple industry body has asked authorities to scan all containers loaded with the tropical fruit to prevent the trade from being used for drug trafficking.

The National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (CANAPEP) requested the Ministry of Finance and Public Security to scan the containers being used for fresh or processed pineapple regardless of the destination.

It says this is to protect the country's reputation, following numerous detections over recent years of drugs being hidden in containers of Costa Rican pineapples, especially in Europe and the U.S.

“Costa Rica exports an average of about 2,000 containers of pineapple per week and the APM Terminals currently has the technological capacity to scan all these loads and thus prevent some pineapple exports from being used for drug trafficking,” indicated Abel Chaves; President of CANAPEP.

The representative also indicated that even though APM Terminals has the scanning equipment in Moín to provide the service, the company has said it is willing to install a new scanner if needed. However, the company added that the Remote Inspection Center (CIR) would have to speed up its analysis of the images, as the work would need to be carried out in real-time.

Chaves added that the scanner installed in Moín has the capacity to scan between 3,500 or 4,000 containers a week, so containers carrying other fruits like bananas could also be scanned.

He also recommends the installation of scanners at the Caldera port terminal, since weekly containers are loaded with fresh produce.