The Costa Rican Government has ratified an initiative that will promote the responsible production and trade of pineapples in the country. 

It said the plan was a world-first and would open a space for dialogue and action so that government representatives, academics, growers, buyers, communities and civil society organizations could incentivize improvements in pineapple operations.

Alice Shackelford, resident representative of the United Nations Development Program in Costa Rica, said the move would allow decisions and actions to be taken to address the main challenges of pineapple production.

She said it would ensure fertile and healthy soils, clean water for communities and protected areas.

Costa Rican Agriculture Minister Luis Felipe Arauz Cavallini explained the commission that would be established would consolidate and give support to the work that was already being carried out to improve the pineapple industry.

"We have managed to map more than 58,000 hectares of land related to pineapple production, which were registered through the Monitoring System for the change in soil use (MOCUPP)," he said.

"We also have 36 actions to improve pineapple production, for which the Costa Rican Government has committed to implementing a monitoring system, available for the national and international public, and we are generating support for the implementation of key actions in sensitive areas like training, soil management, and agrochemical control."

The development comes after Costa Rican authorities partially suspended three pineapple operations due to violations of environmental regulations in early July and a pineapple operation belonging to a Del Monte subsidiary was suspended in May.

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