Costa Rica’s exports of bananas and pineapples saw sharp falls in value during the first eight months of the year.

From January through August, banana exports fell by 17% year-on-year while pineapple exports fell by 8%, according to Procomer.

Across the whole agricultural sector, the returns generated dropped by 9% over the eight-month period, declining from US$2bn to US$1.86bn.

Costa Rica is the world’s fourth-largest banana exporter, according to International Trade Center data. It sits behind Ecuador, the Philippines and Guatemala, and ahead of Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

Last year banana exports totaled US$1bn, which was in line with 2017, but higher than the previous three years.

In pineapples, Costa Rica is the world’s second-largest exporter, behind Mexico but ahead of Peru.

Pineapple exports saw an upward trend from 2015-2018, rising from US$827m to US$1bn.