No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsBusinessCosta Rica's exports down by 17 percent in first quarter of 2015

Costa Rica’s exports down by 17 percent in first quarter of 2015

Despite 40 percent growth in sales of medical devices during the first three months of 2015, overall exports from Costa Rica dropped 17 percent, the Foreign Trade Ministry (COMEX) and Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) reported Monday.

Sales of medical devices during the first quarter of 2014 reached $364 million, while this year the figure was $519 million. The gain was driven mainly by higher sales to the U.S., Belgium and Japan.

The medical device industry still leads Costa Rica’s export sector.

But exports of all goods from the country dropped from $2.8 billion in the first quarter of 2014 to $2.3 billion this year, according to the latest report.

The exit of technology giant Intel still is the main factor negatively affecting export figures. If electronic components are excluded from the total sales, the export figure is actually up 2 percent compared with the same period last year.

Still, negative figures in the agriculture and food sectors also affected the quarterly results, driven mainly by lower exports of pineapple and banana. Pineapple sales fell by 14 percent and bananas by 23 percent.

In total the agricultural sector was down 7 percent and the food industry decreased 3 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Mora Delgado said that, according to local producers, unstable climatic factors are affecting agricultural productivity.

“We expect business in these two sectors to be back to normal by mid-year and the negative impact to start decreasing,” he said.

Mora said the quarterly figures were on par with the ministry’s projections. The government’s export goal for 2015 is $10.2 billion.

Among the sectors that showed growth were the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, which each grew by 5 percent. Rubber exports rose 2 percent.

On Monday PROCOMER’s General Manager Pedro Beirute Prada said the government was working hard to reverse the overall downward trend.

“Costa Rica maintains a diverse, dynamic and growing export model,” he said. “We are addressing the competitiveness challenges with a sense of urgency. We are offering training to new exporters, identifying new international buyers, we also are simplifying export procedures and expanding the platform for trade promotion abroad,” Beirute said.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Celebrates 201st Annexation Anniversary With New Nicoya Park

Nearly 200 people joined the Municipality of Nicoya this Sunday to inaugurate a new park at the Annexation Monument, an initiative that blends recreation,...

Costa Rican Lottery Official Investigated in Money Laundering Case

Another money laundering case has shaken Costa Rica. Following a series of raids that dismantled a laundering network operating through legal and illegal lottery...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...

Low Dollar Exchange Rate Threatens Costa Rican Industry

Ten of Costa Rica’s leading business chambers have sent a joint letter to the Central Bank calling for an immediate adjustment to the country's...

Panama Union Leader Saúl Méndez Goes into Exile in Bolivia

The leader of Panama’s main union, Saúl Méndez, accused of fraud and money laundering, left for exile in Bolivia this Saturday. He had taken...

Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Drowning in Costa Rica Ruled Accidental

The death of American actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner has been confirmed as accidental drowning, according to Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). Warner, 54, was...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica