More Tico Products to Target U.S. Markets

A dozen Costa Rican food-sector businesses arrived in Miami, Florida, last week as part of a trade mission organized by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) to export more Tico products to the U.S. market.“Without any doubt, the United States continues to be the principal trade ally for Costa Rica. For the United States, Costa Rica is a small market (despite) its massive amount of products. For Costa Rica, the United States represents thousands of markets for hundreds of national products, especially if we think of the Latino communities,”PROCOMER General Manager Martín Zuñiga said in a statement. The representatives of the 12 Costa Rican businesses met with U.S. importers and reviewed the infrastructure of the port system in Miami during their trip. Costa Rican products were displayed in an exhibition booth in the Hotel Sofitel, which hosted the meeting, PROCOMER advisor Vicky Luna told The Tico Times.Some of the products exhibited were canned cassava (more commonly known in Costa Rica by its Spanish name, yuca), fried plantain chips, jams, coffee, cookies and pineapple juice.According to PROCOMER figures, Costa Rican exports to the United States last year totaled $2.8 billion, and imports from the U.S. were $3.8 billion. The Chamber of Exporters reported in July that 47% of Costa Rica’s exports head to the United States.