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The dynamic Costa Rican retail sector reflects the country's growing economy and increasing demand for new products. Consumers are influenced by tourism, culinary trends, and social media, with higher-end consumers paying premiums for healthy products and environmentally sustainable packaging.

Cote d’Ivoire’s food processing industry is developing and remains a major importer of ingredients for food processing. These imports will continue to grow as the sector is unable to meet increased demand.

On June 4, a Costa Rican court restored the Chaves administration's policy of dramatically lower tariffs on imported milled and rough rice, overturning an earlier court ruling that reversed the lower tariffs in April 2024.

FAS/San José projects marketing year 2024/25 coffee production to remain near record low levels, as exchange rate challenges, persistent labor shortages, and above average precipitation forecasts prevent the sector from rebounding.

In MY 2024/25, milled rice production is projected to reach 1.2 million metric tons (MMT), reflecting a five percent increase from MY 2023/24. Post estimates milled rice production for MY 2023/24 at 1.14 MMT, a three percent increase compared to the MY 2022/23 estimate of 1.1 MMT.

Though relatively small, the Costa Rican food processing sector relies on U.S. exporters to maintain critical supply chains. Proximity, reliability, and familiarity help make the United States the preferred supplier for a wide range of food processing ingredients, including wheat, corn, and animal proteins.

FAS/San José expects Costa Rican sugar production in marketing year 2023/24 to recover from a 20-year low in the previous year and to continue to rise in marketing year 2024/25 on expanded area planted to sugarcane as producers in Guanacaste continue to abandon rice production.

FAS/San José anticipates Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Trade to allocate 2024 Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement rice quota allocations by the end of April, effectively constraining the availability of U.S. duty-free rice to the final eight months of 2024. Though Costa Rica typically allocates quota volumes in December of the preceding year, calculations of 2024 volumes have been contested by importers following an extraordinary process resulting from a 2022 cyber attack.

Costa Rica reinstated 35 percent tariffs on non-U.S.-origin rice after an administrative court overturned an August 2022 tariff reduction and the Government’s appeal was rejected. Demand for U.S. rice has surged following the tariff restoration on reduced South American-origin rice competitiveness.

Though relatively small, the Costa Rican food processing sector relies on U.S. exporters to maintain critical supply chains. Proximity, reliability, and familiarity help make the United States the preferred supplier for a wide range of food processing ingredients, including wheat, corn, and animal proteins.

Industry experts expect a November 11, 2023, update to the Costa Rican biotechnology regulatory framework will facilitate utilization of innovative biotechnologies and reduce barriers to common applications of modern biotechnology.

Costa Rica declared the re-emergence of New World screwworm a national emergency on February 7, 2024, nearly 7 months after reporting its first case since the late 1990s.