870+ Costa Rican Pineapples Arrive in Yangshan Harbor, Shanghai

According to reports, over 870 tons of Costa Rican pineapples arrived at Shanghai’s Yangshan Harbor on October 14. Onsite sampling and inspection were carried out on site. This bulk-cargo load shipped directly from Costa Rica and marks the first shipment since the debut of Costa Rican Pineapples in June—transport time has been reduced by more than ten days.

The previous shipment was small in volume and shipped in containers. This time around, traders utilized large-volume bulk cargo methods and nonstop shipping. The goods arrived in only 23 days—ten days faster than previous shipments. Moreover, the latter shipment held more than five times the cargo compared to the previous load. Prior to arrival, Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau prepared professionals to carry out the inspection, guarantee freshness, and safely import the goods for switch entrance into consumer markets.

Costa Rican media report a batch of pineapples and bananas shipped at the end of September via direct transport. Port of Caldera is the largest Pacific-Ocean-facing maritime port in Costa Rica and the second largest in terms of freight-cargo shipments.

José Pablo Rodríguez, Commercial Director of the Costa Rican international trade agency Procomer, previously told Produce Report that, Costa Rica’s pineapple season started in October of this year. Looking forward, he also hopes for an expansion of exports in 2018. Likewise, Costa Rica producers are considering increasing the speed and volume of production.

The Costa Rican MD2 Golden Pineapples are famous worldwide. In 2016, Costa Rica’s total pineapple production exceeded 1.97 million tons valued at USD 883 million. Currently, the pineapple industry here encompasses 38 thousand acres of land, 170 exporters, 61 packaging facilities, and employs some 30 thousand people. Furthermore, Costa Rican pineapples have been granted international standard certification from ISO9001 and ISO1400, Good Agricultural Practices, Tesco, Field to Fork, British Retail Consortium and more.

Presently, pineapple imports from Thailand, Malaysia, Philippians, Costa Rica and Thailand have been granted market access in China. According to reports, annual growth of demand for pineapple in the Chinese market has surpassed a rate of 40%.