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Precipitation during week 46 was lower than the previous week and basically concentrated at the beginning of the week. Most part of the week was relatively dry but characterized by low intensity showers and cloudy days. Total rain was 34.8 mm (1.4 in.). Continued unpredictability is the summary of our weather pattern during the month of November – with torrential downpours three weeks ago followed by lower precipitation during the subsequent weeks but with heavy cloud cover and relatively lower temperatures. We can say that the main production issue we have at the moment is maintaining the sugar content and flavor of the fruit (brix) affected by these changing weather variables – erratic precipitation, lower temperatures and intense cloud cover.

The cumulative precipitation this week was slightly higher than the total of the previous week but basically concentrated in a day (Thursday Nov.10th). Total rain was 50.8 mm (2 in). Considered normal during this time of the year. Similar weather than that of the prior week and very normal for this period of the year. Humid and rainy with medium to low solar radiation and minimum air temperature with strong tendency to decrease due to cold fronts that begin to arrive from the Northern hemisphere that affect our region every year during this time. The direct consequence of these cold fronts as we know is the natural flowering (NDF).

A positive turn of events regarding our weather this week: The intensity of the rainfall experienced decreased and the pattern is now dominated by showers of medium to low intensity with a cumulative precipitation during week #44 at the source of 31.2 mm (1.23 in) well distributed throughout the week. In somewhat of a significant reversal, the weather conditions improved this week – average air and soil temperature remained stable, precipitation dropped to a more moderate level and dense cloud cover with very high ambient humidity continued which is something normal during this period of the year. The Meteorological Institute of Costa Rica has announced higher air temperatures for the following days which is great news. We had been alarmed at the early signs of very extreme weather in the month of October in the Atlantic Region of Costa Rica but this first week of November it did take a turn for the better. It only serves to underscore the unpredictability of our tropical weather and the challenges that we constantly face. The Pacific area is now in the transition from wet to the dry season.

The children of Carlota now get to go to a new school, all thanks to a gift from pineapple producer and exporter, Agroindustrial Bananera del Caribe. Several improvements have been made as the roof of the school will no longer be a danger to the classrooms of Carlota where the students have their classes together. They will now have three classrooms that will permit the school to concentrate on classes in each grade, provide classes in English and have a computer lab. The director of the Carlota School, Luis Angel Mendez, said “That thanks to the new classrooms the students of this community can aspire to receive lessons in English and Computation, in addition to their normal studies. We knocked on many doors, but none opened until we knocked on the door of this company. We expected a few improvements and changes, but they completely rebuilt the school.”

This transformation in the life of the 30 students of the Carlota School in Cariari de Pococi is thanks to the Social Responsibility Program of Agroindustrial Bananera del Caribe (AIBC), which is a member of the Camera National of Producers and Exporters of Pineapple (CANAPEP). The philosophy of AIBC is that the contributions of the company are basically to improve the social life of the workers and improve the potential of future generations. Marianela Duran, the Director of Human Resources said, “This is an investment that will benefit the children and will make the parents happy. But in the long run this will benefit the entire community and also our company because in the future, these children will be better prepared to offer services as professionals. The investment cost is not what’s important; it is the results that count. This reconstruction also provides peace of mind to the parents, as the children no longer have to walk 3 KM to the next closest educational facility.”

The changes over the last 6 months have been very elaborate, with a hurricane fence surrounding the property to protect the children, new bathrooms with sinks for everyone to wash their hands, in addition to the new classrooms. The school lot was drained and leveled to provide a safe and dry place for the children’s recreation time.

Intense rains continued during week #43 at the source with a cumulative precipitation of 102.6 mm (4 in.). Totally overcast days and high humidity continues to be the pattern, a rather normal  state of affairs for the months of November and December which are usually very wet but not the expected weather pattern during the month of October. October ended as the rainiest month of the year and one of the rainiest Octobers of the last ten years. Abnormal for our region which is usually dry and hot during this month. Ambient and soil temperatures are dropping very early and faster than prior history and this gives us concern about an increase in the risk of an early NDF event. We are reinforcing our field sampling program and greater care in the selection of fruit harvested in order to prevent quality issues like water spot and high translucency – both major threats during this type of weather. These extreme climatic changes keep us on our toes and  require us to maintain a rigorous field control to maintain a stable quality of the fruit for sure this is something we have learned over the last  ten years that we have been producing pineapples in this area.

Inclement weather continued affecting the whole territory during the week with a slight tapering off on the precipitation side of the Caribbean region. Total rainfall at 84.6 mm (3.3 in). The Chamber of Pineapple Exporters is reporting losses in the pineapple sector amounting to $2.5 million due to causes attributable to the severe weather. Severe weather continued affecting the entire country, bringing heavy rains, flooding and significant damage to infrastructure and agriculture. Despite the rain over the last two weeks, our region continuous free of the crippling effects the bad weather has brought to other regions of the Central American Isthmus.

This is no time to lessen our focus so we continue with an aggressive program of field sampling in order to avoid the deterioration of the fruit’s internal quality. High translucency, water spots and overripe fruit are usually the direct results of this type of weather. Other regions of the country are already reporting an increase in fruit waste caused by these quality parameters. Unconfirmed reports also speak about serious infrastructure damages in the Pacific South region of the country, where a large pineapple production area is located. An increased demand for fruit is being felt throughout the pineapple industry in Costa Rica.

We’ve been called a lot of things in our day, but “trendy” sure ain’t one of ‘em. Nevertheless, we thought you might find this list of “Emerging Trends and Operators Poised to Expand their Impact on Food Retailing” interesting, and hopefully useful.

Enjoy: The Hot List