The exports of goods from Costa Rica, accumulated until November 2021, totaled US$ 13,316 million, 25% more than in the same period of 2020. With this figure, the country once again breaks a record in the exports of goods.
This record is presented thanks to the fact that all sectors present a positive performance, most of them growing at double digits. Precision and medical equipment -a sector that leads Costa Rica’s exports of goods with a 36% share- shows a growth of +36% reaching the figure of US$ 4,786 million, the agricultural sector grows 6% and adds up to US$ 2,779 million in shipments abroad. The food industry increased its exports by +26%, pharmaceutical chemicals + 9%, electrical and electronics + 40%, metalworking +69%, plastic +27%, livestock and fishing +9% and rubber +33%. Statistic data revealed by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER), highlight that US$ 3,128 million were exported from companies in regions on the periphery of our country.
“We are very pleased with the growth we are experiencing in exports of goods during 2021. The growth is extraordinary even when compared to pre-pandemic years. Very valuable that in addition to the medical, electrical and electronic industry, traditional sectors such as agriculture and livestock and fishing are generating positive numbers. These data also commit us to continue working in a coordinated way with other institutions and with the private sector to bring more development to areas outside GAM, through linkage programs, the generation of new export offerings and Discover that they help to create better conditions for the economic development of these regions”, affirmed the Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Board of Directors of PROCOMER, Andrés Valenciano Yamuni.
For his part, the general manager of PROCOMER, Pedro Beirute Prada, added that “thanks to the hard work of the export sector, and the wide commercial platform that the country has, not only can positive figures be seen in a year that had many challenges, rather, we see diversity in the exportable offer and in the export destinations. Even, the growth that we are experiencing at a general level this year is greater than those that occurred in pre-pandemic years, such as 2017 (+ 8%), 2018 (+ 6%) and 2019 (+ 2%)”.
For the eleventh consecutive month, the destination regions of the Costa Rican exportable offer show growth, all in double digits. North America, the main region for national exports, grew by 26%, Central America by 27%, the Caribbean by 29%, South America by 59%, Europe by 16%, and Asia by 27%.
Breakdown of exports of the main sectors
Precision and medical equipment sees its exports boosted by products such as other devices for medical use (+40%), needles and catheters (+42%) and prosthetics for medical use (+51%).
For its part, the agricultural sector – the second most important sector with a share of 21% of the total -rebounded due to goods such as pineapple (+13%), frozen fruits (+43%), and ornamental plants (+31%). Other non-traditional agricultural products that contribute to the growth of the sector are: chayote (+14%), mangoes (+49%), coconuts (+146%), dried pineapples (+33%), papaya (+108%) and banana (+103%), as well as some tubers such as cassava (+3%), tiquisque (+41%) and yampí (+168%).
The food industry, which represents 14% of exports of goods and ranks third in importance, increases its exports of syrups and concentrates for soft drinks (+36%), palm oil (+38%) and juices and concentrates fruit (+31%).
The fourth export sector of Costa Rica, the pharmaceutical chemical, which represents 6% of the exports of goods, grows by goods such as paints and varnishes (+33%), antisera (7%) and medicines (+ 6%) .
