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12 th International Arts Festival
“Warum, warum,” play by Peter Brook (Switzerland), March 22-23, 7 p.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater (CCCN), Barrio Dent. “Tercer cuerpo,” play by Timbre Cuatro (Argentina), March 22-24, at 7 p.m., La Aduana Theater (Ca. 23, Av. 3). “Margarita,” play by Teatro Pluie (C.R.), March 22-23, 7 p.m., Vargas Calvo Theater, behind National Theater. Yamil de la Paz and Alejandra Sol, film “Los lunes al sol,” March 22, 7 p.m., Contemporary Art and Design Museum (CENAC). Nanpurri, Max Goldemberg (C.R.), Guadalupe Urbina (C.R.), Amancio Prada (Spain), March 22, 6 p.m., La Sabana Park, Lake Stage. Chamber dance show by Ileana Alvarez, March 22, 5 p.m., El Farolito Stand. Concert by Sonsinpar, March 22, 7 p.m., Municipal Theater, Alajuela.

Oil Exhibit
“Men with Hats,” by Donaldo Voelker, through April 24, Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, CCCN, La Sabana.

Photography Show
“Costa Rica Objetivo Pura Vida,” by four Spanish photographers, through April 30, Botanical Garden, CATIE, Turrialba. Info: 2558-2643.

The first two months of the year have been good to the Costa Rican export industry, as the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) announced Friday that exports have increased 13.8 percent in comparison to the first two months of 2009. Through January and February, Costa Rica has exported nearly $1.5 billion in goods and services, including $766 million in February.

The leading export sectors for 2010 so far have been electric products and electronics, which have accounted for 29 percent of total exports, the agricultural sector (23 percent) and food industry products (13 percent).

According to PROCOMER, the biggest increases in exports have been seen in juices and fruit concentrates, salsas, computer parts and electric cables. Costa Rica has also seen strengthened demand for banana and pineapple, two of the country's chief agricultural exports. The export of bananas is up 28 percent over last year, while the demand for pineapple has jumped 14 percent. PROCOMER also reports that the export of medical prosthetic devices has risen 28 percent.

“The performance of Costa Rican exports again reflects growth,” said Emmanuel Hess, general manager of PROCOMER. “This is something we expect to sustain over the course of the year due to the variety of products offered in the Costa Rican export market.”

Of Costa Rica's exports this year, 39 percent have made their way to North America, while exports to the European Union and within Central America each account for 18 percent of the market. Exports to China and Singapore have also grown substantially in 2010. Goods and services sent to Singapore have risen 78 percent since a year ago, while exports to China are up 26 percent. Costa Rica is in the process of establishing free-trade agreements with both Asian nations.

The number of tourists who landed in January and February at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, a short drive from popular beaches in Costa Rica's northern Pacific province of Guanacaste, was up more than 24 percent from the same span in 2009, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT).

The Liberia airport saw 50,427 arrivals in the first two months of the year, up from 40,564 in the same period last year. This was the highest percentage increase in an overall upward trend for arrivals, which official said indicates Costa Rica's tourism is climbing back to the banner-year numbers of 2008, after taking a hit last year during the Great Recession.

The total number of tourist arrivals in Costa Rica increased by 4.3 percent in January and 16.5 percent in February over the same months in 2009. In the first two months of the year combined, Costa Rica welcomed 428,233 visitors, an increase of 37,405, or 9.57 percent, from the same period last year.

"These figures are similar to those registered in the beginning of 2008, when tourism in the country still hadn't suffered the impact of the international economic crisis," said Tourism Minister Allan Flores. "Although there are still regions and companies being affected by the drop in visitors reported in 2009, these numbers are a good sign of recovery."

The ICT said January-February 2010 tourist arrivals in Costa Rica's busiest airport, Juan Santamaría International Airport, in Alajuela, northwest of San José, rose less dramatically than those of the Liberia airport, but still came in nearly 9 percent above the total in the first two months of 2009.

Arrivals by land increased by just over 5 percent over last year, according to the numbers released Thursday by the ICT. The tourism board based all of these figures on an analysis of data collected by the Immigration Administration, the ICT said in a news release.

The new numbers come just as travel companies are gearing up for Semana Santa, or Easter holy week, which runs from March 28 through April 4. A recent survey by the National Tourism Chamber found that hotels, tour operators and car rental companies expect an 80.2 percent occupancy rate during these popular travel dates.

The European Union and the countries of Central America will begin a new round of negotiations focusing on the commercial aspects of an Association Agreement in Brussels this week, in which Panama will participate for the first time as an official party rather than as an observer.

The EU approved last week a change in the mandate for its negotiators in order to include Panama in the discussions, following a formal request from that country, as well as an assent by Panama to accept all of the points already agreed upon in the negotiations by its Central American partners Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The EU also agreed to promote the inclusion of Panama in the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA).

The upcoming session will focus strictly on commercial topics, as this is the pillar of the agreement that still needs work – the chapters on cooperation and political dialogue will not be addressed on this occasion – in order to have the agreement concluded before the European - Latin American summit May 18 in Madrid.

The principal commercial points to close are access to the European market for Central American agricultural products (above all, the tariff to be imposed on bananas and sugar) as well as the agreement's chapter on sustainable development.

In this area, the EU is proposing that the principle of productive and dignified employment for all be recognized as a key element in the promotion of globalization and international commerce, according to a draft provided to the newswire EFE.

At the same time, the EU is proposing that the parties comply with the basic conventions of the International Labor Organization, and that multilateral environmental agreements and standards be maintained.

For its, part, Central America will be seeking increased cooperation from the EU to reinforce its capacity to apply environmental and labor legislation.

Another topic on which agreement should be reached is whether the parties should be obligated to undertake a review of the impact that the commercial agreement could have on sustainable development, as the EU is requesting, or whether the agreement should only recognize the obligation to consider such a review, which is the Central American position.