Costa Rica continues to be by and large an agricultural country. Roughly 40 percent of its croplands are used for growing coffee and bananas. Other major crops are organic vegetables, fruits, cacao, sugarcane, corn, rice, sorghum, food grains, potatoes, pineapples, tobacco, cotton, beans, broad beans, logging and livestock.
Exports account for $2.9 billion, mostly chipped in by coffee, cocoa, bananas, fabrics, seafood, sugar, pineapple, pharmaceuticals, foliage, ornamental plants, electronic components and polyester fibers that are shipped to the US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Netherlands , UK and France. They country also exports considerable amounts of beef and logs, as well as other industrial items.
Imports amount to $3.4 billion and are mostly made up of raw materials, goods and oil bought in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and Germany.
Costa Rica’s industry is composed mainly by small and medium-sized companies devoted to the drying of coffee, lumbering and the production of cheese, beer and liquors. The largest factories produce petroleum by-products, cement, furniture, paints and varnishes, paper, textiles, foodstuffs, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, plastics, lamps, boots, cigarettes and cigars.
Total GDP peaks $19.6 billion, broken down in 18% from agriculture, nearly a quarter from industry and 58% from services.
The fishing industry is underdeveloped is accounts for 30 percent of the country’s services, employs little more than a third of the population’s workforce and stands for nearly a fifth of the Gross Domestic Product. From 1990 to 1997, the fishing industry took peaks and valleys as part of a stagnation process, especially in 1993 when that economic activity took a slow burn. From that moment on, however, fishing scored a slight increase and climbed as much as 23.4% in 1996. As far as industrial fishing is concerned, that activity also had ups and downs between 1995 and 1997. Aquiculture has not evolved to higher levels despite the tremendous importance it has in job creation for the new generations and a major source of income for the country. Regardless of this, the nation has turned out to be one of the world’s leading producers of freshwater fish. INCOPESCA and other state-run institutions support the development of aquiculture. On the other hand, the government strives in implementing policies aimed at further rationalizing and using the nation’s marine life and freshwater species in a bid to foster both the marketing and industrialization of aquiculture-related and fishing resources.
The Costa Rican economy has made significant headway, owed in part to great political stability for over 50 years. Right now, the country is going through deep and strategic shakeups in a number of economic sectors, but stacked up against other Latin American nations, its inhabitants enjoy slightly higher living conditions and more solid economic stability, two conditions that have made it one of the most developed nations in Latin America. The Gross National Product (GNP) peaks $19,600 million, broken down in nearly a fifth (18%) from agriculture, a roughly a quarter (24%) from industries, and a bigger chink of 58% from services. Experts are in the neighborhood of $2.9 billion. The country’s major exportable staples and commodities are coffee, cocoa, bananas, fabrics and sugar, produces that are usually sold and shipped to the US, Germany, Italy, the UK, among other nations. As far as imports are concerned, the Central American country buys $3.4 billion worth of commodities from the US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and Germany. To a great extent, Costa Rica continues to be an agricultural nation with nearly 40% of the territory reserved for farming such crops as bananas and coffee. Though the fishing industry is not that much developed, it chips in approximately 5% of the GNP. The country shows an unfavorable trade balance. With Mexico, the country has inked a number of bilateral agreements with an end view to create a free trade zone between the two nations. In 1998, Costa Rica signed a Central American agreement whereby the Trade and Investment Council was founded in an effort to fast-track the implementation of the Central America Free Trade Zone Agreement. The Central Bank of Costa Rica regulates the national banking system –it has managed to goad banks into slashing interest rates from 29% in 1999 to 26% in the year 2000. The nation’s industry is made up of small-scale and mom-and-pop businesses devoted to coffee grain drying, wood sawing, cheese making, breweries and the making of liquors. The country boasts amazing breakthroughs in scientific research and the export of new products. Tourism is the one sector that has leapfrogged the most in recent years, especially fostering the development of ecotourism with sustainable and highly profitable services. The country’s communication networks and road mesh are perched on the Central Valley. It’s pretty easy to move by sea, by air and by ground vehicle. Seaports washed by both oceans make access to the rest of the world just a breeze. These harbors are outfitted with cutting-edge technology in keeping with international standards and requirements. Moin and Limon ports in the Atlantic, and Puntarenas and Caldera in the Pacific are good cases in point. The country’s hydrological reserves are worth taking note of. Electricity is generated by water-powered plants and exported to neighboring nations. Despite a good variety of mineral resources, the country only exports gold, silver and sea salt. Nationwide power consumption hinges basically on three energy sources: oil and its byproducts, electricity and biomass. Power intake is much higher in the transportation sector as a result of increasing number of vehicles –as many as 100,000 units in recent years. The government has plans in store to dismantle state-run monopoly on power generation and telecommunications, two elements that are supposed to stir up trade competition and increase long-term private investment in a number of sectors.
Costa Rica can be reached by land, sea or ground. In 1955, ground communications were made a whole lot easier. The country has some 35,536 kilometers of roads, though just 16 percent of them are paved. Visitors from Canada, the US, Mexico and other countries in the region travel by car to Costa Rica all year round. Local commuter systems are adequate. Most companies are private and hook up San Jose –the nation’s capital- with the rest of Costa Rica’s seaports and towns. Featuring good vehicles and stable timetables, travelers may move easily from town to town all across the country. Moreover, most towns and cities boast efficient cab services. International bus systems from San Jose to Panama and the rest of Central America is good. Tica Bus, Sirca and Tracopa feature fixed timetabled. Railroads total 950 kilometers, while watercourses suitable for navigation tally 730 kilometers in all. The country has 176 kilometers of pipelines. Seaports located on both oceans allow easy, hassle-free access to any part of the world. Their harbors are equipped with cutting-edge technology in line with international requirements and guidelines. Moin and Limon ports in the Atlantic, and Puntarenas and Caldera in the Pacific –together with Golfito and Quepos- are good cases in point. As far as international air transportation is concerned, the country has several airports, with the Juan Santamaria topping the list in terms of international traffic. A mesh of smaller airports scattered all across the country ease domestic transportation among different cities. There are private lines that offer twin-engine aircraft with fewer seats to and from anywhere in the national territory. Several international airlines serve the Central American nation, including COPA, LACSA, SAHSA, TACA, SAM, AMERICAN AIRLINES, CONDOR and LTU from Germany, CANADIAN NATIONAL AIR, LADECO, IBERIA, MEXICANA, KLM, AERO COSTA RICA, CONTINENTAL, AVIATECA, VARIG, UNITED and SERVIVENSA. Telegraphs and postal services link all towns and cities across the national territory. Costa Rica is connected via satellite with other Central American nations, the US, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, Asia and Africa.
Costa Rica - Mexico: Free Trade Treaty Costa Rica –Dominican Republic: Free Trade Agreement Costa Rica – Panama: Free Trade Agreement and preferential trade Costa Rica - Venezuela: Partial Scope Agreement, Economic Complementarity Agreement ACS (Association of Caribbean States) CACM – Central American Common Market Bilateral Investment Treaties: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela.
