Panama and Costa Rica will need to import 300,000 workers: IOM

  • Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Costa Rica and Panama will have to import about 300,000 workers over the next few years to ensure the harvest of their agricultural products and the modernization of the Panama Canal, an official from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.
The IOM director for Mexico and Central America, José Pirés, said these countries will have to import workers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba or Brazil to meet the demand for workers.
"I estimate that Costa Rica will need at least 80,000 workers to complete its food harvest, while Panama will need 200,000 for the modernization of the canal and the real estate boom," Pirés said.

More on this topic