Costa Rica registered a trade deficit of $363 million in the first two months of 2009, down 62 percent from the same period last year, the Central Bank (BCCR) announced Saturday.
The drop was primarily due to a fall in imports, resulting from the global economic crisis, said the bank.
The country imported $1.7 billion worth of goods in January and February, down from $2.5 billion in those same months in 2008.
Exports were down only 16 percent, from $1.6 billion in 2008 to $1.3 billion this year.
The country closed 2008 with a $5.8 billion trade deficit, a 60 percent increase over the $3.6 billion deficit registered in 2007.
