Farmers and grocers in Costa Rica sometimes lament certain facts of free trade and globalization; to with: A significant portion of garlic, rice and even black beans, all staples of traditional cuisine in this country, are actually imported from China. Due to the agricultural economic background of Costa Rica, some may consider this to be a trade imbalance; however, some entrepreneurs are taking this situation in stride by growing vegetables traditionally used in Asian cuisine and exporting them to that region.
The following press release is from Naturewalk Farms, a rural business community in Turrubares, located near between the Central Valley and the Central Pacific Coast.
Sustainable Organic Asian Vegetable Production Expands in Naturewalk, Costa Rica
PRLog – Nov. 18, 2014 – JACO, Costa Rica — Over the last 8 months, Naturewalk completed a test growing program, involving 6 varieties of asian specialty vegetables. The results proved very successful with crop growth and yields meeting or exceeding expectation.
These vegetables have been traditionally grown in other parts of Central America and the Caribbean for the North American market. “This is the first large commercialization program of these specialty vegetables to take place in Costa Rica” says Tim Alexander, President of Naturewalk “we are pleased to be adding this strong agricultural component to our activities at Naturewalk. This is a real win for the area in terms of jobs, employment and economic stimulus and of course we are excited to be developing this program at Naturewalk”.
The first of 4,000 Chinese, Indian and Thai eggplants are due to be shipped the third week of November from the nurseries in Grecia. Over a 4 month cycle a total of 90,000 plants will be planted to meet demand for two containers per week shipped to U.S. east coast seaports due to beginning in February 2015. Other vegetable varieties include Thai Hot Pepper, Preeti, Bangana Lina, and Greengo Cucumber.
Participating in the program with technical support and seed stock are East-West Seed Company Limited with head offices in Nonthaburi , Thailand. East West Seed is one of Asia’s leading vegetable seed suppliers distributing high quality seeds to over 60 countries worldwide. East West is supporting Nature Walks program locally with on-the-ground technical expertise through its locally trained agricultural engineers.
Naturewalk Farms, a division of Naturewalk Brands grows a wide variety of tropical produce including Tiquisque, Nampi (Taro), Nami, Vanilla, Ginger Papaya and Organic Pineapple. The Farms, located in the Central Pacific, supply local markets as well as export to North America. Naturewalk is a fully master-planned community of 1200 acres in Turrubares Costa Rica. Owners in Naturewalk own fully serviced lots on which they can have their dream home. Owners further benefit from fully managed crops growing on their land, giving them an income. The master plan for Naturewalk includes a condo hotel, eco hotel, adventure center, equine center and town center with shopping facilities in addition to homes.
For further information visit www.costaricainvest.ie or call USA +1-202-697-9284 or Europe +353-1-272-4184
See the full story in The Costa Rica Star HERE
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