Coca Cola Looking to Possibly Expand Operations in Costa Rica

Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade, recently announced that he met with the president of the American soft drink magnet, Coca-Cola, along with the company's Latin American president. The subject of the meeting was a presentation made by Coca-Cola to increase purchases of citric fruit from small producers in Costa Rica.

According to Mora, while the meeting was brief, President Luis Guillermo Solis attended the meeting, the purpose of which was to establish dialogue for a future meeting between Coca-Cola and the Costa Rican government. No information has been released regarding how many small domestic fruit producers might benefit from the proposal or how much money Coca-Cola might be willing to invest in the project. If the project receives the green light, it would focus specifically on assisting women producers in the region of Guanacaste, who would supply Coca-Cola's global supply chain at what has been termed as a "fair" price. During the meeting, discussions were also held regarding the potential to add coffee from Costa Rica to Coca Cola's product offerings.
Coca-Cola's Role in Costa Rica
Currently, about 2,000 people are employed by Coca-Cola in Costa Rica. Earlier in the year, Coca-Cola made the decision to lay off as many as 1,800 people on an international scale. Even so, the company continues to look at options for expanding its operations in Costa Rica.

In addition to its world renowned leading product, Coca-Cola also produces such products as Jugos del Valle, Minute Maid, Fresca, and Odawalla. Trade Minister Alexander Mora has indicated that President Solis could visit the soft drink company's headquarters in Atlanta at some point in the future.