Hides offer Costa Rica an early success
23/11/2009
One of the first successes to have come from a new free trade agreement between Costa Rica and China has been bovine hides, with the Central American country shipping $2 million worth to its trading partner since the agreement began in April.
Packer firms in Costa Rica say they have already exported 250 container loads of hides from local cattle, with each container holding between 800 and 900 hides and each hide measuring around four square-metres.
Costa Rica’s main negotiator in setting up the agreement, Fernando Ocampo, has said the success of shipping hides to China shows “the enormous potential” that the country’s food and farming sectors have in that market, with Chinese importers already buying beer, fishmeal, fruit juices and cooking sauces, as well as the hides.
A local company called Bonasort Costa Rica has taken up the role of buying and shipping hides from abattoirs around the country. Its president, Jordi Colomer, has said: “Since we first carried out a few trials, and now with regular shipments, I have to say that everyone has been more than satisfied with the results. The quality of Costa Rican hides is very good and is giving our country a very good name.”
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