Costa rica Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in costa rica, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Import Requirements and Documentation
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Arms and munitions require a license from the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security’s Department for the Control of Weapons and Explosives.

Imports are registered by the Central Bank of Costa Rica for statistical purposes.

Special Import/Export Requirements and Certifications (Health, Pharmaceuticals, Pre-Shipment Inspections)

Pharmaceuticals, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and some chemical products, such as solvents, agricultural inputs and precursor chemicals used to produce narcotic drugs, must have import permits (valid for five years) and be registered with the Ministry of Health.  Food products require registration when imported for the first time. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) requires sanitary and phytosanitary certificates from exporting country authorities.  The Costa Rican importer must obtain the permits.  Surgical and dental instruments and machines can be sold only to licensed importers and health professionals.  Also, regulations require that imported biomedical equipment and materials be registered with the Ministry of Health. Under local sanitary registry regulations all dietary supplements and natural medicinal products should be registered with the Ministry of Health before being sold in Costa Rica. According to these regulations, all dietary supplemental products containing vitamins and minerals must meet a predetermined quantity of each ingredient that falls within the minimum-maximum quantities found in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 (Annex 1 of the RTCA 436-2009) corresponds to 20 percent of the U.S. RDI, and Table 2 (Annex 2 of the RTCA 436-2009) is a table of values obtained from different regulatory agencies including IADSA, FNB and EC SCF.

The Costa Rican Institute of Social Security (CCSS) Procurement Department requires bar code identification on all purchases of medicines and medical supplies upon entry into the Costa Rican market. This requirement is included in the specifications of all public and private tenders issued by the CCSS for medicines and medical supplies.

Under CAFTA-DR, Costa Rica must apply the science-based disciplines of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  Costa Rica also guarantees equivalence to all factories inspected by USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service.  As a result of the agreement, beef, pork and poultry products from federally inspected factories are allowed to enter the country without facility registration procedures.  Costa Rica requires exporters of U.S. dairy (also lamb, egg, and seafood) products to register with the Animal Health Service Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to submit questionnaires that require a substantial amount of company specific information. Also, Costa Rican Plant Health authorities are increasingly enforcing pesticide residue regulations by increasing the number of chemical molecules tested on different fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. Increased testing has resulted in the rejection of shipments of rice, fruits and potatoes.

Agriculture Import Requirements & Documentation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service publishes the Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) Report annually, which provides an comprehensive overview of the Costa Rican regulatory landscape for U.S. food, beverage, and agricultural products, like ethanol or casein.  The FAIRS Report also includes a supplement dedicated specifically to explaining the various export certificates a U.S. agricultural product exporter would need.  The 2022 Costa Rica FAIRS Report is available on the Global Agricultural Information Network website at: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/

and the 2022 Costa Rica FAIRS Export Certificate supplement report

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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