COMEX reduces Alimentos Kamuk's committed employment to 83

The Executive Branch reduced the minimum employment level committed by Alimentos Kamuk Internacional (Costa Rica) Sociedad Anónima in the Free Trade Zone Regime to 83 workers and extended the deadline to complete its initial investment until July 2027. The decision was formalized in executive agreement N° ACU-RZF-0058-2026-COMEX, signed on July 21, 2026, and published in La Gaceta N° 190 on Thursday, October 8, 2026, within the Executive Branch Agreements.

The modification amends Executive Agreement N° 216-2023 of July 4, 2023, published in La Gaceta N° 146 on August 11, 2023, which granted the company—legal entity number 3-101-031116—the benefits and incentives of Law N° 7210, the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, under the processing industry category, pursuant to article 17, paragraph f) of said regulation. The agreement was signed by Alexander Astorga Monge by delegation of the President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, and by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos Gallo.

The request was submitted by the company to the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) on May 19 and 28 and June 3, 2026, under article 7 of the Regulations to the Free Trade Zone Regime Law, which allows for a request for a one-year extension of the deadline to complete the initial investment. PROCOMER’s Special Regimes Directorate issued report N° 182-2026 and recommended that the Executive Branch approve the modification.

The company’s new commitments

Total minimum employment level: 83 workers, effective from the notification of the agreement.
Investment of at least US$6,595,645.00 (six million five hundred ninety-five thousand six hundred forty-five dollars), as of July 27, 2023.
Additional new investment in new fixed assets of at least US$607,161.00, no later than July 27, 2027.
Total investment level of at least US$7,202,806.00 (seven million two hundred two thousand eight hundred six dollars).
Compliance with the National Added Value (VAN) percentage under the terms of the Regulations.

The reasons alleged by the company

The company maintained that the request “is not a response to a strategic decision aimed at reducing the payroll” nor does it constitute an instrument to evade labor commitments or stop hiring. It attributed the involuntary reduction in employment to the appreciation of the Costa Rican colón, changes in United States tariff policy, and the consequent contraction of sales—factors that allegedly reduced the available income to sustain the originally committed payroll.

According to the company, the modification seeks to adapt the committed parameter to the current operational reality and allow the company to operate in formal compliance with its obligations while moving toward recovery and growth.

The criterion of PROCOMER and the Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Trade recalled, through official letter DM-911-1 dated September 26, 2001, that PROCOMER must assess dynamic and changing factors of the business environment, as well as the impact that a considerable modification in investment and employment levels entails compared to the definitive closure of the company.

The agreement was issued based on articles 140 paragraphs 3) and 18) and 146 of the Political Constitution, Law No. 6227, Law No. 7210, Law No. 7638, and Executive Decree No. 34739-COMEX-H. The presidential signature was delegated through Agreement No. 040-P of July 14, 2026, published in La Gaceta No. 133, Scope No. 91 of July 17, 2026.

Validity and supervision

The agreement takes effect upon its notification and maintains unchanged everything not expressly modified in Executive Agreement No. 216-2023. PROCOMER will monitor compliance with investment levels according to the parameters of the Regulation, and the Executive Branch may revoke the Regime for the company if it fails to meet the established minimums.

The decision reduces the labor commitment of a processing industry installed under tax incentives and moves the investment goal to 2027, in a context of pressure on formal employment in free trade zones and scrutiny over the use of the Regime’s benefits.

Source: La Gaceta No. 190, Thursday, October 8, 2026, Agreements of the Executive Branch, pp. 7-8 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0058-2026-COMEX / IN202601131082).