Costa Rica: Day Two

We concluded our time in Guatemala by visiting what they call Hypermarkets. These are very similar to our stores like Meijer and Wal-Mart. In fact the 6 Hypermarkets in the region are all owned by Wal-Mart. The brands we saw in the stores were known to us all. Our delegates from Red Gold and Clabber Girl saw their products on the shelves and we even saw some chocolate from Hammond, Indiana. There are some things that are different. For example, we learned that a large percent of their population is lactose intolerant, so their children drink soy or corn milk products instead of dairy. They mix the drinks from a powder. This is also much cheaper than cows' milk.

In contrast to the Hypermarkets we visited a Supermarket. In Guatemala these are very high-end food stores that stock gourmet items that are imported from Europe and elsewhere across the globe. This really highlighted the divide between the income levels in Guatemala. Only the most wealthy individuals in the country would be able to afford to shop in the Supermarket.

We set off from here to the airport and landed soon after in Costa Rica. It is beautiful, green and very mountainous.

Our first stop was for a briefing at the embassy. We heard from Mark Langdale who is from Texas. He gave us a good overview of the country and its economic situation. Also present were representatives from political, economic, public, and foreign affairs, as well as a representative from the foreign commercial services.

They told us about the many challenges faced by Costa Rica. Among them are a very high inflation rate (14%), a large national debt, very inefficient monopolies among key utilities like telecommunications and electricity, a troubling tax system, and a very uncertain investment climate. But, on the positive side, Costa Rica is flourishing as a vacation destination, their gross domestic product is growing, and they expect that CAFTA will contribute to future growth and development.

Costa Rica is also very proud of the fact that they have been a democracy since 1948 and have invested in education and health care. This investment has resulted in a 92% literacy rate and a national health care system that provides care for its citizens.

The country has a presidential election planned for February 5, 2006. They are expecting voter turnout to be in the neighborhood of 70%-80% which is much higher than what we see in the US.

Our day ended at the home of Brad Corbett, a business associate and friend of Congressman Dan Burton. Mr. Corbett was very appreciative of Congressman Burton's efforts to support trade between the US and Costa Rica. We spent the evening enjoying a relaxing dinner at the Corbett home and mingling with the other guests that Mr. Corbett had invited.