Q COSTA RICA — Medical devices accounted for 46% of Costa Rica’s goods exports between January and August, generating US$7.29 billion in overseas sales, according to figures reported.
The result underscores the growing importance of medical manufacturing to Costa Rica’s trade performance.
Once better known abroad for agricultural products, such as coffee, bananas and pineapples—the latter two the most significant agricultural products, with exports approaching US$900 million each during the first eight months of the year—Costa Rica has built a sizable industry producing specialized equipment such as catheters, cannulas, needles, prosthetic devices and heart valves.
Exports in the category reached roughly US$7.28 billion during the eight-month period. Based on its reported 46% share, Costa Rica’s total goods exports were close to US$15.84 billion.
Medical manufacturing has expanded rapidly in Costa Rica, supported by foreign investment and the country’s free-trade-zone regime. The industry’s growth has also changed the composition of national exports, placing advanced manufacturing ahead of traditional agricultural sectors.
The latest figures continue a longer-running trend.
In the first half of 2023, exports of precision and medical equipment had already reached US$3.66 billion, according to Ministerio de Comercio Exterior (COMEX)—Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Trade.
By the first eight months of 2024, the broader precision and medical equipment sector represented 42% of the country’s goods exports and had grown by 12%, adding US$579 million in annual sales, the ministry reported.
COMEX Minister Indiana Trejos described the period’s results as positive, despite the prevailing context. “4% growth is a favorable performance, particularly given an international landscape marked by geopolitical and trade uncertainty, as well as domestic conditions that also pose challenges for the export sector,” she stated in a release, as reported by EFE.
The new share suggests that Costa Rica’s export base has become even more concentrated in life-sciences manufacturing. That dependence brings substantial revenue and skilled employment, though it also ties a large portion of the country’s trade performance to global demand for medical technology.
Costa Rica’s export model now rests increasingly on its ability to retain multinational manufacturers, develop qualified workers, and sustain the conditions required for highly regulated production.
With nearly half of overseas goods sales coming from medical devices, the sector’s performance has become central to the health of the national export economy.