Floods in Costa Rica last week are threatening banana crops in the provinces of Limón and Alajuela.

The torrential rains have damaged five motorways and more than 40 bridges, and the northern and Caribbean coastal areas of the country remain on red alert. Damage to crops and property across all economic sectors are estimated at more than $13 million.

Meanwhile, growers are still counting the cost of high winds that caused considerable damage to the banana sector in the Dominican Republic late last month.

Agriculture secretary Salvador Jiménez said that some 31,000 hectares of banana plantations were devastated by the storms in the north of the island during the last week of June.

The province of Montecristi on the Caribbean island was worst hit by the storms that struck during the night of June 21. More than 90 per cent of banana plantations in the province were damaged.

The storms were a second blow to many growers in the area who had earlier been affected by flooding of the Yaque del Norte river.

Ramón Faña, vice-president of the association of Dominican banana producers Adobanano, calculated the losses at 38,000 boxes, adding that his sector will need seven months to recover productivity.

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