It's been a good 2023 for Costa Rican pineapples after a challenging post-pandemic period, and the war in Ukraine which caused production costs to rise. 

The Central American country projects a 10% growth in exports year-on-year. 

In October, Costa Rica had already exported 162 million boxes of pineapples of the 180 projected for the season. 

The United States is the main market for this product, with 84% of pineapples consumed in the U.S. coming from Costa Rica. 

Pink pineapple

Pink pineapple, being a transgenic fruit, still has limited access to the markets, however, it has not had problems in the United States, and in Asia, it has been very well received. 

"Where they have had restrictions is in the European market, in that sense, we continue working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the sanitary service so that we can also take advantage of part of the production that is not exported for the domestic market," Abel Cháves, president of the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (CANAPEP), tells FreshFruitPortal.com.

Golden Pineapple

Chavez pointed out that they seek to maintain an important volume in the United States and Europe, their main markets.

"In 2021 we shipped 190 million boxes, in 2022 we were close to 180 million boxes and in 2023 we expect to finish close to 180 million boxes, as it has been a year of post-pandemic recovery."

He explained that the pineapple industry represents about 1.9% of Costa Rica’s national GDP and 30% of the agricultural sector's GDP.