Costa Rica is an important sugar producer and exporter. In recent years, the country has established a series of trade restrictions to protect the domestic producer, but that does not mean that there is a direct preferential price for citizens.
A kilo of sugar has an average cost of ¢ 640, which is not affected by the place of origin of the sugar cane, the place where the product is refined, national or international transport or the payment of taxes when entrying the country .
It does not matter if the sugar travels 4,800 kilometers from Brazil to San José, or if it travels 9,800 kilometers from Brazil to Canada to be refined and then it travels 5,600 kilometers to be sent to Costa Rica or if it simply travels 250 kilometers from Guanacaste: in the end, Costa Ricans will pay the same price.
96 of every 100 kilos of sugar consumed in the country or exported to other nations come from the large sugar plantations located in the Pacific and the North Zone, from sugar cane mills located in Puntarenas, Guanacaste, San Carlos and Turrialba.
Before 2014, 100% of the market belonged to La Liga Agrícola Industrial de la Caña del Azúcar (LAICA), but from that date, Maquila Lama company started to import 3%-4% of national consumption from South And North America.
When it comes to prices, it seems obvious that no sugar from other countries could compete with the national one, but the reality is different.
The differences between national producers and importers have triggered a commercial war that has worsened after a controversial decision announced by minister of Economy Geaninna Dinarte, who, 10 days ago, unilaterally increased the tax paid by sugar importers: it went from 45% to 51.82%. One of the parties presented an appeal in the MEIC.
The MEIC must resolve the appeal against the anti-dumping measure this week and minister Dinarte declared that she would explain why the technical criteria didn’t influence her decision.