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16 www.HortiWorld.FlowerTECH2006, vol. 9/no. 8
200
175
150
125
100
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: Procomer data
MillionUS$
Figure 1. Total ornamental exports from Costa Rica.
Atotal of US$ 170.3 mil-
lion worth of ornamen-
tals were exported from
Costa Rica in 2005, a historical
record in an already rising
trend (Figure 1). According to
Procomer data, until the end
of September 2006, US$ 146
million had been exported,
almost 10% more than last
year by the same month. If the
same proportion is maintained
until the end of the year, total
exports should reach US$ 186
million in 2006.
Family driven La CimaLa Cima in the Alajuela prov-
ince specialises in multiplying
and growing young plant mate-
rial from mother plants for
export to EU or US growers.
Owner and production manag-
er William Vargas points to
their cost advantages over
colder countries to maintain
the necessary 18C and 80%
relative humidity in greenhous-
es. Plants are ready for ship-
ment once they develop more
than 5 cm of roots, depending
on the species, which takes
from 4 to 6 weeks on average.
Shipment can be either as bare
roots or in flora for customers
who will grow them in soilless
systems.
La Cima exports around 70
boxes/week, each containing
from 60 to 600 plants, accord-
ing to size or species. The main
crops are Schefflera, Yucca
elephantipes and 10 types of
Dracaena. In spite of its 20 ha
in total, and the fact it is a 20-
year old company, La Cima still
is a family company employing
20 people. Around 60% of the
customers are in The
Netherlands, who will finishoff the plants for another 6 to
8 weeks and sell them at the
auctions; the remaining 40%
are in the USA.
Most of the production is
kept under 80% shade, which
is 10% more than used for reg-
ular cultivation. It is important
to carefully monitor the
amount of water given, in
order to avoid diseases.
Regulating light is also impor-
tant; too much light can cause
leaf colours to pale and not
enough can decrease the varie
gation in some species. The
placement of the shade is also
crucial to resist winds, Vargas
likes to keep a minimum
height of 3m to avoid the effe
of the heat collected by the
cloth during the day radiating
onto the plants.Since it can rain considerably
at his location, William does
not use fertigation, only drip
irrigation at an average of five
irrigation cycles daily. Regular
fertiliser dressings are applied
in the soil, with 12-60-0 to
spur rooting, as well as foliar
applications of 20-20-20 plus
micronutrients. Disease contro
is done with weekly preventive
Export figures for flowers and ornamental plants
from Costa Rica point to another record year.
Flower Tech visited two young plant operations,
each with their own style; the family and the local
branch of a foreign company.
By Mauricio C. Mathias Email: [email protected]
Own style no obstacle to
export record
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FlowerTECH2006, vol. 9/no. 8 1www.HortiWorld.nl
fungicide since the plants have
to undergo careful inspection
to be exported, and only 3% of
La Cimas production stay in
Costa Rica. The only occasional
pest problems have been mites
and aphids in Schefflera.
William maintains his mother-
plants for up to five years, and
since renewing species and
varieties is essential, he keeps
several simultaneous experi-ments prior to making a
switch. Before committing to a
new material he has to know
its behaviour, preferences for
optimal growth and yield; for
this he counts on the assistance
of consultants that help set up
and follow the plant trials.
Local company branchOrqudeas Costarricenses S.A.
(Orcosa), located in San
Antonio de Beln, is the local
branch of a Dutch company
that, as the names indicates,
started out growing orchids,
mainly phalaenopsis. However,
it is in the process of convert-
ing the operation to exclusively
bromeliads. Similarly to La
Cima, only part of the cultiva-
tion cycle takes place in Costa
Rica, being subsequentlyshipped to the Netherlands for
flowering. Export to the US
market corresponds to 15% of
the companys overall produc-
tion, but it can include 100%
of specific varieties. Cultivating
only protected species, Orcosa
is always looking for novelties
and has already gathered 50
different bromeliad types.
These are grown for four to six
months, on average, in Costa
Rica before being shipped out;
the cycles of some types how-
ever, can last up to one year
before they are ready. Other
species include five Croton
varieties under commercial
production, with five other
types under trial.
The company takes up 3 ha of
land, partly under fibreglass
houses and partly open pro-
duction. During their cycle
inside the houses relative
humidity can vary from 40 to
75%, depending on the plant
developmental phase. Space
under their houses is utilised to
the limit with plants in three
levels; hanging baskets, bench-
es and flats. Climate control
indoors is achieved with fog-
gers and sprinklers that main-tain the humidity. The outdoor
bromeliad production is under
shade screens and irrigated
with sprinklers, with only a
small portion in the open air.
Since plant reproduction and
multiplication is very labour-
intensive Orcosa has a higher
number of employees per ha
than the average Costa Rican
farm.n
Costa Rican websites:
Acoflor was founded in 1985 to stimulate the growth of
national floriculture, the Costa Rican Association of Flower
Growers, represents flower producers in Costa Rica: www.
acoflor.co.cr Procomer has updated information on exports from
Costa
Rica, shown by sector: www.procomer.com
The Costa Rican Association of Fern Producers and
Exporters (ACOPEHEL), is a non profit organization, found-
ed by the Costa Rican producers and exporters of leather-
leaf fern: www.acohepel.com
Agricultural Experimental Station Fabio Baudrit Moreno:
www.eefb.ucr.ac.cr/
Caneplant, the Costa Rican Chamber of Exporter Producers
of Ornamental Plants, whose members account for approxi-
mately 80% of all plant exports from Costa Rica, founded
in 1991: www.ornamentalplants.net/
The operations must use space to its maximum so have three
layers of plants.
