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Germany, January 29, 2025. After more than 15 years of promoting ornamental plant offerings at the IPM Essen fair in Germany, Costa Rica consolidates its leadership in the sector by participating once again in this important global showcase. From January 28 to 31, the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER) and a delegation of 11 companies are seeking new business opportunities for our country.

Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER, stated that “The Caribbean Regional Profile reflects our intention to bring inclusive and sustainable development to every corner of the country. This analysis allows us to identify the potential and challenges so that, by coordinating with local actors, we can propose concrete actions to strengthen the region’s capabilities and create an ecosystem attractive to multinational companies. At PROCOMER, we continue working to create more opportunities through the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).”

This will be done through the PROCOMER Training Program, which is aimed at both active exporters and those who are just beginning their export journey. Most of these sessions will be free and will cover content for various industries and sectors, such as negotiation techniques, marketing and sales, legal and logistical aspects of exportation, among others.

California, October 15, 2024. During President Rodrigo Chaves’ visit to Silicon Valley, the leading U.S. semiconductor multinational, Applied Materials, Inc., announced that it has chosen Costa Rica to establish its Global Services Office (GBS) in Heredia starting in 2025. This decision aims to strengthen its capabilities in key areas for industry, such as supply chain and procurement.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — This morning, the 26th edition of the Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), the most important business matchmaking event in Central America, organized by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER), kicked off. Over 500 national exporters and 300 international buyers are expected to complete more than 3,000 business meetings on September 11 and 12 at the Costa Rica Convention Center.

Alajuela, August 29, 2024. With an investment of USD 10 million, the U.S.-based multinational Resonetics, which specializes in the development of key components for medical devices, inaugurated its second manufacturing plant in Costa Rica today, located in the Coyol Free Zone, Alajuela.

San José. August 8, 2024. The IX edition of the Greenfield FDI Performance Index, published this Thursday by fDi Intelligence magazine, confirms Costa Rica’s outstanding performance in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in 2023, indicating that investment projects are attracted 7,9 times more than the size of our GDP suggests. This reinforces the good results achieved last year, closing with US $3,788 million in FDI flows, an increase of 20% when compared to 2022, according to data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).

·         The facility is expected to begin operations in January 2025 and be fully certified by June of the same year.

San José. July 19, 2024. The Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) participated in the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) regional meeting, held on July 17 and 18 in the Dominican Republic, presenting the country’s value proposition as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), and the evolution that the services sector has had.

Heredia, July 18, 2024 – PetSmart, the leading provider of products, services, and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets, inaugurated its new technology center in Costa Rica and announced the opening of new job positions.

San José. July 9, 2024. The Promoter of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) will participate, along with 17 Costa Rican companies, in SEMICON West 2024, an event that brings together companies from the semiconductor sector on July 9, 10 and 11, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California.

San Jose, June 28, 2024. This Thursday, June 27, the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) participated in the Investment Promotion Agencies of Latin America Summit, held in Mexico City, which included the participation of Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena.

Grecia, June 18, 2024. DDS Lab (DDS), one of the largest full-service dental laboratories in the United States and the first medical industry companies to initiate operations outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GMA) in Costa Rica, inaugurated its production plant in Grecia Free Zone, Costa Rica Green Valley.

Alajuela, June 12, 2024. Medical device company Theragenics will create 500 new job positions over the next five years, as part of a US$10 million investment in its new manufacturing plant in Costa Rica. In this new plant, it will be possible to manufacture specialized medical needles, guide wires and other components for minimally invasive medical devices.

Heredia, May 30, 2024. Clario, a U.S.-based biotechnologist organization dedicated to providing technology and solutions for the clinical trials industry, has announced the opening of its new office in Costa Rica. This expansion aims to strengthen its operations and create new job opportunities in the country.

The American company, Weve Technology, a leader in the development and promotion of software for corporate gaming applications, has opened its operations in Costa Rica, with an investment of US$100,000 and creating ten hybrid job positions in knowledge-intensive fields.

San José, March 27, 2024. Costa Rica reached a historic milestone by closing the year 2023 with record figures in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, registering an inflow of $3.921 billion, achieving 131% of the estimated target for that year, which was $3.000 billion. This amount also represents a 24% increase over December 2022, when FDI amounted to $3.163.9 billion.

Cartago, May 23, 2024. Following the announcement last December of its expansion in Costa Rica with an investment of $100 million and the hiring of 400 new positions, the electronic manufacturing services firm Zollner, placed today the cornerstone of its second plant in La Lima Free Trade Zone, in Cartago.

Alajuela, Costa Rica (May 23, 2024) – Cadence, Inc., a medical device contract manufacturing organization (CMO) and strategic partner for leading global medical device OEMs, announced today the grand opening celebration of its facility in Costa Rica.  The celebration is a significant step in the company’s continued commitment to growth, innovation, and investment to best meet the needs of our MedTech partners worldwide.

Fortimize, a US-based company specializing in developing technological solutions in Salesforce and Data for the financial services industry, has announced the expansion of its operations in Costa Rica.

• Cohesity will drive its growth in Latin America and provide support for its operations in the United States. 
• The company has 25 job openings and anticipates growing its team in the country to 100 collaborators by the end of the year.

Telford, PA – Solesis, a leader in the custom design, development, and manufacturing of textile- and polymer-based healthcare solutions for the medical device and biopharmaceutical industries, has announced plans to build a new manufacturing site in Costa Rica. This is the first site dedicated to producing implantable textile components, polymer-based devices and components, and single-use technologies. The Solesis family of companies is comprised of Secant Group, Polyzen, Charter Medical and SanaVita Medical, who together enable technologies and therapies for next-generation patient care.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Jan. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) participates in the International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR 2024, to strengthen the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in tourism infrastructure outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (Gran Área Metropolitana (GAM)).

San Jose, January 11, 2023. With the commitment to support the creation of formal and inclusive employment in Costa Rica and provide human talent to companies established in the country, the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) will host the “Talent Costa Rica Job Fair” on May 28.

San Jose, January 10, 2024. EcoCups, a Peruvian company specializing in the manufacturing of eco-friendly packaging, has announced its decision to establish a production plant in La Ceiba in Orotina, Costa Rica. This initiative is expected to create employment opportunities for 100 individuals within the first year of operation, contributing to the growth and development of the region outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).

San José, January 10, 2024. EcoCups, a Peruvian-owned company that manufactures eco-friendly packaging, announced that it will set up a production plant in La Ceiba in Orotina, Costa Rica, employing 100 people in the first year of operation. This brings new opportunities and development to this region outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).

San José, December 19, 2023. The company Avionyx, based in Heredia, announced the expansion of its operations in Costa Rica, with the aim of expanding its range of services for the support operation of its subsidiary company owned by Joby Aviation. And the creation of new jobs that promote innovation in the aerospace sector, hand in hand with Costa Rican talent.

Zapote, December 14, 2023 – Zollner Electronik AG, a global leader in electronic manufacturing services, announced today its new expansion in Costa Rica. It will invest $100 million and hire an additional 400 people.

November 3, 2023 – Washington, United States – The country’s trade and investment authorities sat down with representatives of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and associated companies, with the aim of positioning Costa Rica as an ideal destination for new investments in the semiconductor industry.

San José, Costa Rica – November 1°, 2023 – This morning, the global biopharmaceutical company MSD celebrated the official opening of its Global Data Management Center, located in the city of San José, Costa Rica. This new Center marks a milestone in the expansion of the company’s operations, with an innovative focus on the management of clinical data for global oncological studies.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Sept. 27, 2023. With the aim of promoting exports from Costa Rica’s agricultural, food, specialized industry, and service sectors, involving more than 600 micro, small, medium, and large companies, the 25th edition of the Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), the most important business event in the Central American region, organized by the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER), began this morning.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) and the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) presented the new strategy for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Costa Rica, which consists of a policy and a four-year strategy that, among other things, aims to generate 100,000 jobs and attract 70 investment projects in areas outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).

The Costa Rican foreign trade promoter, PROCOMER, in conjunction with the universities Veritas, UH, UC, UIA, ULACIT, UISIL and UNIBE, and the Consorcio Global Edu promotes the Costa Rican education proposals to professionals from more than 100 countries at the trade fair for education, NAFSA 2023, taking place from May 30 to June 2 in Washington D.C., USA.

In addition to being recognized as a tourist destination and for its commitment to sustainability and democracy, Costa Rica also enjoys an international position for the quality and diversity of its export products. It is precisely these characteristics that this Central American country promoted with the help of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) at the PLMA trade show in Europe — organized by the Private Label Manufactures Association — held on May 23 and 24 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Feb. 21, 2023. Food products such as roasted coffee, cocoa powder, fruit juices, and purees; frozen roots, tubers, fruits, and vegetables, as well as organic pineapple are part of the offer that the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) and eight companies in the sector are promoting at the most important food industry fair in the Middle East, Gulfood Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

SAN JOSÉ, Feb. 15, 2023. Marte Studio, Herald Entertainment, and Tropics Creative together with the Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) and the country brand Essential Costa Rica are participating in the most important digital animation fair for the US market: Kidscreen Summit 2023, taking place in Miami, Florida from February 12-15.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Feb. 8, 2023. A Costa Rican delegation – made up of six companies, suppliers in the precision and medical equipment sector, the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) and the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE) – showcase the capabilities and advanced manufacturing of this Central American country, from February 5 to 7, at the most important medical device trade fair in the United States: MD&M West, in Anaheim, California.

San Jose, March 22, 2022. As of February 2022, goods exported from Costa Rica reached $2,388 million, signifying a growth of 15% ($310 million) over February 2021. Like January 2022, February also registered the highest growth rate of the last five years.

Effects on Costa Rican exports

Source: Gartner / Gartner. Date: January 24 and February 9, 2022

• Growth across all sectors and destination regions.

Fuente: Medtechdive    Fecha: 29 octubre, 2021

Effects on Costa Rican exports

Source:  Organic Farmer   Date: 07-10-21

Source: Gartner Date: July 13, 2021

Percentage share by region:

Source: MedTech Dive Date: June 03, 2021

Source:Unleashed Business Tips Date: June 03, 2021

Source: Food Ingredients First              Date: 06-30-2021

Source: IDC  Fecha: 08-Marzo-2021

Source: IBIS    Date: January 2021

Fuente:  Gartner          Date: March 23-2021

Effects on Costa Rica exports

Participants in detail

San José, June 4, 2021. To showcase Costa Rica’s higher education offerings to attract foreign students, the Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica and 15 universities in the country are participating in the NAFSA 2021 Annual Conference & Expo. This is the 7th time that the sector participates in this fair that brings together an educational community from more than 100 countries.

About Paya Coffee

Gender inequality in numbers

At the end of 2020, other business services represented 51% of total services exports, while travel accounted for 20%; information technology and telecommunications 20%; processing services 4%; and maintenance and repair 2%.

San José, February 5, 2021. After analyzing 21 samples of fine and aromatic cocoa from Costa Rica, the firms Finca Venecia, La Iguana Chocolate and Agroecological Integral Farm La Milagrosa are the winners of the first “Cocoa of Excellence” contest held in the country and through which these companies were selected to represent Costa Rica in an important international contest.

San José, January 21, 2021. Once again, the export sector of Costa Rica demonstrates its resilience in the face of the challenges of the pandemic by closing 2020 with a growth of + 1.9% in exports of goods, which reaches a historical record of $ 11,683 million, $ 202 million more than exported in 2019.

San José, January 6, 2021. At a time marked by changes and adaptability, consumers are guiding their purchases of fruits and vegetables according to four trends: safety, sustainability approach, consumption of local products and consumption of foods that reinforce mental performance and the immune system. This stems from the study Trends in the commercialization of fruits and vegetables in times of COVID-19, carried out by the Foreign Trade Agency of Costa Rica.

• CINDE, Costa Rica’s Investment Promotion Agency, reported 81 investment projects from 11 different countries during the pandemic.
• Multinationals in the country generated 19.806 new jobs, an 18% increase from the previous year.
• Costa Rica consolidates its position as a strategic ally for Nearshoring: Intel & Microvention are two recent examples of this stance.

San José, Costa Rica. December 15, 2020. CINDE – The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency- reported a record of 81 confirmed projects during 2020, 26 of which are new companies that selected Costa Rica for their Operations. Other 55 investment projects diversified current operations in the country with new processes or business lines as well as expansions.

Of the 26 new entries, 14 of them came from non-traditional origins representing 11 different countries such as Japan, Denmark, France, Germany, India, UK, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Among these is German-based ADMEDES, one of the world’s leading contract manufacturers of auto-expandable nitinol (nickel and titanium) components used in the medical devices industries. The company selected Cartago, Costa Rica as their third geographic operation, which will add to its two centers in Germany and another in the USA.

Intel is another example with an investment of US$350 million in Costa Rica to revamp testing and assembly operations, which adds to its other three divisions in the country, including its Mega Lab, The Research and Development (R&D) Center, and its Global Services Center, all adding 2,000 people.

Eric Scharf, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CINDE, highlighted that these results, amid the pandemic, are a clear signal of Costa Rica’s response and resilience and an excellent coordinated effort between the government, companies, and their employees to ensure business continuity.

“Within days, 98% of services companies in the country with over 70.000 people were 100% working from home. Manufacturing companies identified all critical on-site jobs which continued to operate under the strictest sanitary protocols, prioritizing the wellbeing of the people. Assurance of this business continuity with a clear rule of law and openness to trade demonstrated multinationals’ trust in Costa Rica as their strategic partner for the new nearshoring,” added Mr. Scharf.

On that line, Jorge Sequeira, CINDE’s Managing Director added, “Over the years, Costa Rica has been the nearshoring site per excellence. This year, the pandemic reaffirmed Costa Rica’s position. We had several expansion projects in manufacturing, driven by a supply optimization strategy. The results we had in 2020 reflect a high level of trust by multinationals in our country, where we were able to demonstrate strong response, resilience, and reinvention of businesses but more so, demonstrate our people’s capacity.”

• The coconut water market projects a growth of 10% per year between 2020 and 2026.

October 14th, 2020

San José, September 22nd, 2020. Less than a month after the start of the largest business round in the Central American region, Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), around 400 Costa Rican exporters are preparing to attend “one to one” virtual meetings with 302 buyers from 45 different countries, who were interested in the exportable offer of Costa Rica.

San Jose, August 14, 2020. The most important event in the Costa Rican goods export sector brings more news. Apart from being a 100% virtual and free event, BTM 2020 will show international buyers the best of the national offer and its innovative processes through a series of webinars, taught both by officials from the Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) and of entrepreneurs in the export sectors.

San Jose, July 31, 2020. Costa Rica’s audiovisual industry has not escaped the challenges imposed by the new post-pandemic normality. For this reason, the country’s Film Commission has been stepping up efforts to position the national content offer on streaming platforms, as it did with Boonet and Piccen, which are acquiring Costa Rican productions to show to their users.