Since Costa Rica suspended the entry of Hass avocado from Mexico, countries such as Chile, Peru and Nicaragua have taken advantage of the situation to increase their exports to the Costa Rican market.
The dispute that is still unresolved dates back several years, when in May 2014 the Costa Rican authorities decided to ban the import of avocado from Mexico, arguing the existence of the disease called sunspot. See history of the conflict.
Between 2017 and 2018, honey production increased by 5%, and according to businessmen there are opportunities for the sector to continue on the right path, because in the Costa Rican market there is still demand that can not be met with local production.
The Agricultural Statistical Bulletin, prepared by the Executive Secretariat of Agricultural Sector Planning, states that between 2017 and 2018 production grew from 1,128 to 1,180 metric tons.
Businessmen in the sector expect that this year's foreign sales of medicines will maintain the positive trend, consistent with the upward trend shown in the last four years.
Data from Procomer of Costa Rica, specify that in recent years’ exports of medicines have recorded positive year-on-year variations, with the highest reported between 2017 and 2018, when sales grew from $159 million to $184 million, equivalent to an increase of 16%.
The outlook for the country's manufacturing industry is unfavorable, since in the first four months of the year companies outside the free trade zone reported a 5% year-on-year drop in their sales abroad.
Consistent with the behavior reported since the beginning of the year, in the first four months’ sales of Costa Rican goods abroad remained stagnant, totaling $3,693 million, just 0.2% above the figure reported in April 2018.
The decline in exports of the agricultural sector reported in the first quarter, coupled with the lack of rainfall, has caused that the beginning of the year has not been the best for businessmen in Costa Rica.
Figures from the Costa Rica Foreign Trade Promoter report that between the first quarter of 2018 and the same period in 2019, exports from the agricultural sector were down by $107 million.
The strong growth reported in past years in foreign sales of frozen fruit from Costa Rica has declined, a situation that businessmen believe is because of market saturation.
According to data from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer), between 2016 and 2017 foreign sales of frozen fruit grew 21%, from $65 million to $79 million, but for the period between 2017 and 2018 the increase was just 1%, going from $79 million to $80 million.
During the first three months of the year, sales of Costa Rican goods abroad totaled $2.757 million, just 0.5% above the $2.744 million reported as of March 2018.
The most updated data of the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) specify that from January to March of this year the exports of companies in free trade zones registered a 12% year-on-year increase, and in the case of foreign sales of products in final regime fell 9%.
Because it has become expensive in Costa Rica to produce manufactured and agricultural goods, exports of services are increasingly gaining in market share.
Figures from the Promotora de Comercio Exterior (Procomer) detail that of the total exports in 2018, 56% corresponded to sale of goods and 44% to services. This composition is far from the figures of a decade ago, since in 2008 exports of goods monopolized 62% and services 38%.
During the first two months of the year, Costa Rican exports to countries in the region totaled $393 million, 3% less than what was reported for the same period in 2018.
According to data from the Promotora del Comercio Exterior (Procomer), in the first two months of 2019 Costa Rica's exports increased by 3.2% over the first two months of 2018, going from $1.743 million to $1.800 million.
Although exports have tripled in the last three years, mainly because of increased sales of medical equipment, sugar, ethyl alcohol and meat, the business sector's expectations are not as optimistic.
Data from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) specify that in 2016 Costa Rican exports to China totaled $46 million, in 2017 registered $111 million, and in 2018 rose to $200 million.
Between 2017 and 2018, milk sales from Costa Rica to Panama fell 24%, explained by increased competition, while exports to Guatemala and the Dominican Republic increased 21% and 13%, respectively.
According to figures from the Promotora del Comercio Exterior (Procomer), between 2017 and 2018 sales to Panama of milk and cream not concentrated and concentrated registered a 24% decline, falling from $7.5 million to $5.6 million. The main reason behind this behavior seems to be an increase in international competition in the Panamanian market.
During 2018, pineapple exports surpassed banana exports totaling $990 million and $981 million, a situation that is recorded for the first time in the country in recent years.
Figures from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (Procomer) detail the fruit exports reported different behaviors, because between 2017 and 2018 foreign sales of pineapple increased 5% and banana sales decreased 9%.
Based on sales of medical and precision equipment, between January and October of this year the country reported $8.908 million in exports, 7% more than in the same period in 2017.
According to the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (Procomer), in the first ten months of the year, medical equipment and precision exports represented 29% of total sales and registered an 18% increase compared to what was reported in the same period in 2017.
Because of sales of medical and precision equipment, exports between January and August 2018 increased by 173% compared to the same period in 2015.
According to figures from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer), in the first eight months of 2015 the sales of the Central American nation to Japan totaled $59 million, a figure that has practically tripled, as reported in the same period of this year, when exports reached $162 million.
Explained by better promotional efforts, the proportion of Costa Rican SMEs that export to Asian, South American and Caribbean countries continues to grow.
According to the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer), last year 86% of companies that sold goods in South America were SMEs, in the case of Asia the proportion reached 81% and for the Caribbean it was 80%.
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