Browse Data and Analysis

On July 6, the Government of Costa Rica published a draft executive decree that would dramatically reduce tariffs on imported milled and rough rice. The vast majority of U.S. rice exported to Costa Rica in 2021 (valued at $25 million) entered under a duty free quota for rough rice established by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

Costa Rican consumers rushed to the supermarkets to buy higher volumes of basic staples such as rice and beans as the first cases of COVID-19 hit the country in March.

Costa Rica's rice production was negatively affected by Tropical Storm Nate in October, 2017.

Tropical Storm Nate passed through Costa Rica in early October causing widespread damage to infrastructure and to agriculture.

Costa Rican food processors and consumers trust and value food products that include U.S. raw materials and ingredients. Demand for quality ingredients has been steadily increasing...

The Government of Costa Rica recently issued a Decree fixing producer and consumer prices of rice, thus maintaining a longstanding policy of price fixing in the domestic rice market.

Recent high-profile activism against biotechnology has created uncertainty among those involved in production and research of biotechnology products in Costa Rica.