Costa Rica Considering 'Zero-Duty' TRQ on Rice Imports Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Measures
Costa Rica's Rice Corporation asked the country’s government to open a “special tariff rate quota” for the importation of 60,000 metric tons of rice at “zero duty” for delivery in June and July, due to changed circumstances surrounding the coronavirus…
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COVID-19 pandemic, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released April 8. The request came as Costa Rican consumers “rushed” to supermarkets in March to buy “basic staples,” including rice and beans, as the country discovered its first cases of COVID-19 and social distancing norms were established. The TRQ would maintain the country’s rice supply, which is expected to further dwindle, the USDA said. The government is considering a “smaller TRQ,” the USDA said, most likely in the range of 40,000 metric tons.