The director of the state phytosanitary service (SFE for its acronym in Spanish), Francisco Dall’Anese resigned on Thursday night, after some agricultural businesses asked for his dismissal.
Two weeks ago, the SFE started to inspect pineapples for exports at the port, when it had only done so in plantations and packaging plants.
According to the National Chamber of Agriculture and Agribusiness, this measure cost them $ 2.5 million.
Another controversial measure was an imports ban to Hass avocados from Mexico, which has been in force since 2015. Allegedly, the veto is necessary to prevent sun blotch disease from damaging crops in Costa Rica .
According to Dall’Anese, the deputy minister of Agriculture, Ivania Quesada, asked him to leave.
Dall’Anese said that “the principles of legality, values and ethics are not negotiable,” adding that “you can not give in to political pressure from powerful groups when the country is being damaged”.
Source: CRhoy.com