The World Trade Organization will grant Costa Rica ten days to file a response, and the countries will then have 60 days to negotiate a solution on the ban on Hass avocados.
The Agriculture Ministry said in a news release that officials are working on a protocol that would allow them negotiate the reopening of avocado imports from Mexico by midyear.
Border police seized 20,000 pirate avocados at the Panama border on Thursday afternoon, the latest in the ongoing avocado saga that began when Costa Rica banned Mexican avocado imports a year ago.
Mexican and Costa Rican officials are meeting in Geneva to discuss Costa Rica's ongoing ban on avocados from Mexico and eight other countries because of the “sunblotch” virus. If Mexico is not satisfied with the criteria discussed at the WTO's Phytosanitary Committee, the dispute could move on to arbitration.
The fast food sandwich chain Subway found itself at the center of a quarrel over a ban on avocado imports in Costa Rica Thursday when the restaurant’s decision to temporarily stop offering avocado led to a stunt by Communication Minister Mauricio Herrera.
Hold the guac! That side of guacamole could get a lot more expensive now that Costa Rica has decided to temporarily ban avocado imports from nine countries, including Mexico, the world’s largest producer of avocados.
