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Published Thursday, April 30, 2020
Country exports grow by 10%
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Exports of Costa Rican goods started out the year on a positive note, growing by 10% at the end of the first quarter in 2020 compared to the first quarter of last year – that is, $265 million more, reaching a total of more than $3 billion, reported the Costa Rica’s Exports Agency, PROCOMER, on Wednesday.
Service exports, for their part, closed out a successful 2019, reaching more than $9 billion – an increase of $413 million, or 5% more than in 2018.
Added together, Costa Rican exports of goods and services in 2019 reached more than $20 billion, twice the amount exported in 2009, when shipments reached over $10 billion.
According to Dyalá Jiménez, foreign trade minister and president of the board of directors of PROCOMER, these figures show that the country has a sound trade policy that has helped it find markets for Costa Rican goods and services in different parts of the world, as well as ample diversification, which has helped the export sector grow and innovate over time.
“Exports account for 34% of the country’s GDP, so we are happy knowing that we have started the year out strong in goods and that services performed so well last year. We know, however, that we are facing a global crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic and that this could affect these positive figures in the coming months,” said Jimenez. “Far from letting down our guard, we are called upon to keep thinking of ways to survive the crisis. In the past, we have faced and overcome difficult situations, and for that, the foreign trade sector is redoubling efforts to assist and support the companies we serve.”
The diversification of goods and destinations is helping to mitigate the impact in this complex international setting, said the minister in its statement.
According to PROCOMER the 10% growth of goods in this period, compared to 2019, is the highest in the last five years.
The sectors contributing to this increase include medical and precision equipment, with a 23% increase in exports, followed by agriculture, with a recovery and growth of 4%, as well as the food industry (up 7%), pharmaceutical chemicals (up 4%), metal-mechanics (up 8%), and livestock and fisheries (up 7%) among others.
Among the most dynamic goods can be found are:
• Medical devices, up to $171 million.
• Coffee, up to $19 million.
• Syrups for soft drinks, up to $19 million.
• Parts for electric magnitude measuring instruments, up to $15 million.
• Iron or steel bars, up to $12 million.
• Beef, up to $12 million.
• Bananas, up to $11 million.
• Devices for use in stomas, up to $5 million.
All destination regions for Costa Rican exports also showed growth. Asia was up by $39 million, North America by $191 million, Europe by $2 million, Central America by $7 million, the Caribbean by $8 million, and South America by $15 million.
At the 2019 close, service exports accounted for more than $9 billion, up 5% from 2018. Information technology, travel, tourism, health, education, and sophisticated business services were highly dynamic in 2019, all recording more growth than the sector (5%).
Other business services and information technology, information, and telecommunications, which together represent 49% of all services, grew by $152 million and $88 million. Travel, tourism, health, and education had a growth of $204 million and accounted for 42% of the service sector.
The foreign direct investment closed out 2019 with a total over $2.5 billion, 13.4% more than in 2018, considering the downward trend of FDI flows globally. It also reflects the confidence that multinational companies already installed in Costa Rica have for reinvesting in our country.
“In the context of covid-19, we continue to work together with the companies to ensure their business continuity, which in turn helps keep more than 120,000 people working for them in their jobs,” said Jorge Sequeira Picado, director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, CINDE.
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