As El Niño’s impact seemingly slows down, another weather phenomenon looms on the horizon for fruit growers: La Niña, a cold event in the Pacific, is commonly referred to as anti-El Niño because of its opposite effects.

For Costa Rican growers, lower temperatures and excessive rain pose a great danger for pineapples and citrus in general.

With year-round production, pineapple is the star of the country’s fruit export portfolio. According to the National Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters (CANAPEP), 84% of pineapples exported to the U.S. came from Costa Rica as of September 2023. 

Pineapple also contributes 34% of the country's agricultural GDP, representing 1.9% of Costa Rica’s overall GDP, CANAPEP said.

Related articles: Costa Rica accounts for 84% of U.S. pineapple imports

Excessive rainfall has detrimental effects on pineapples, emphasized Jorge Cartín, director of the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (ASA).

"Consumers could also be impacted by these upcoming issues, because if yields go down and production costs go up, prices of agricultural products at the points of sale will be on the rise," Cartín said.

“Fungi and bacteria issues could potentially increase," Cartín added. “Everything indicates that 2024 will be intense. If we already know that the climate is going to be like this, we have to learn from previous years, what the lessons were, what the areas are where there have been historic flooding problems."

Meteorologist and former University of Costa Rica researcher Álvaro Brenes told FreshFruitPortal.com that La Niña could bring its most troubling effects to Costa Rica from September through November.

"Many citrus trees in the northern part of Costa Rica could be affected. And pineapples have to be protected from excessive solar radiation and temperature variation. From June to October, we are expecting isolated incidents of heavy rains," Brenes said.

La Niña could also contribute to a more active Atlantic hurricane season, creating an extra element of uncertainty for producers along the Caribbean coast. Early forecasting from ECMWF predicts an active season with 17 named storms and nine hurricanes. Warm Atlantic waters and La Niña conditions could support storm formation during the season, beginning in late May.