Costa Rica's Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) estimates around US$30 million of production has been lost in recent weeks due to storms, website Entornointeligente.com reported.

The story reported infrastructure was one of the biggest problems as products could not be easily transported on roads, and the issue could lead to further losses.

The Chamber of Costa Rican Exporters (Cadexco) highlighted pineapples, bananas and plantains as some of the fruits that had been affected by damaged roads, the story reported.

Cadexco president Sergio Navas said there were concerns surrounding increased input costs, especially in terms of fighting diseases.

"We have containers that are late, but at this moment we cannot say that they have losses. In the south some roads have been restored, but it's clear that delays always have effects," Navas was quoted as saying.

MAG regional operations director Erick Quirós, told the website there had been drainage problems on palm oil plantations in the country's south, while coffee, rice and grass farms had also been affected.

"What happens is that you have to dig back all the drains because the rains have filled them with sediment, plantations have borne a lot of water, but you have to take out all the mud - if you don't, you could have losses," he was quoted as saying.

Photo: Toda Noticia

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