Food exports in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Food exports was 32.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Food exports in Costa Rica, 1965–2024
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise exports.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 32.3% for food exports in 2024.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food exports in Costa Rica peaked at 82.0% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 24.7%, in 2009.
Costa Rica ranks 57th of 196 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.
Food exports in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 82.0% | — |
| 1966 | 78.9% | -3.9% |
| 1967 | 79.4% | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 78.1% | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 79.4% | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 79.0% | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 75.8% | -4.1% |
| 1972 | 78.1% | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 75.8% | -3.0% |
| 1974 | 72.2% | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 73.1% | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 70.4% | -3.7% |
| 1977 | 74.4% | +5.7% |
| 1978 | 69.2% | -7.0% |
| 1979 | 74.3% | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 63.7% | -14.2% |
| 1981 | 65.9% | +3.4% |
| 1982 | 69.3% | +5.3% |
| 1983 | 69.3% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 72.0% | +3.9% |
| 1985 | 71.6% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 73.7% | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 68.9% | -6.5% |
| 1994 | 61.2% | -11.2% |
| 1995 | 63.4% | +3.7% |
| 1996 | 65.6% | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 50.4% | -23.2% |
| 1998 | 41.4% | -17.7% |
| 1999 | 28.6% | -31.0% |
| 2000 | 30.0% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 32.5% | +8.1% |
| 2002 | 31.3% | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 30.1% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 32.3% | +7.5% |
| 2005 | 29.7% | -8.2% |
| 2006 | 29.6% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 30.0% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 31.9% | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 24.7% | -22.5% |
| 2010 | 34.6% | +40.3% |
| 2011 | 35.1% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 33.9% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 34.4% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 37.0% | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 42.5% | +14.9% |
| 2016 | 44.4% | +4.3% |
| 2017 | 43.3% | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 41.1% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 39.1% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 39.8% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 36.5% | -8.2% |
| 2022 | 35.4% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 32.8% | -7.3% |
| 2024 | 32.3% | -1.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 32.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.5%, 2.8× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 32.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.3%, 1.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Food exports in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +40.3% | 24.7% | 34.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 79.6% | 78.1% | 82.0% | 5 |
| 1970s | 74.2% | 69.2% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 69.3% | 63.7% | 73.7% | 8 |
| 1990s | 51.8% | 28.6% | 65.6% | 6 |
| 2000s | 30.2% | 24.7% | 32.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 38.5% | 33.9% | 44.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.4% | 32.3% | 39.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More private sector data for Costa Rica
- Merchandise trade 52.4% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 27.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Manufactures exports 64.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 26.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,129 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2568 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 21.87 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 5,333 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food exports in Costa Rica?
- Food exports in Costa Rica was 32.3% in 2024, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food exports recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 82.0% in 1965.
- What is the lowest food exports recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.7% in 2009.
- How does Costa Rica rank for food exports?
- Costa Rica ranks 57th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is food exports rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food exports (% of merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.