Summary
- Largest supplier: United States
- 36.5%
- Concentration (HHI)
- 1,719
- Products with a supplier above 50%
- 331
- Products with a supplier above 75%
- 91
Concentration index (HHI): 1,719 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 6 suppliers of the same size
Trend
Trend in shares
China went from 0.89% to 17.1% of what Costa Rica buys
Share (%)
- United States 36.5%
- China 17.1%
- Mexico 6.3%
- Brazil 2.9%
- Guatemala 2.7%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Largest supplier | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | United States | 42.4% |
| 1996 | United States | 43.2% |
| 1997 | United States | 45.9% |
| 1998 | United States | 51.6% |
| 1999 | United States | 43.9% |
| 2000 | United States | 48.7% |
| 2001 | United States | 50.2% |
| 2002 | United States | 48.6% |
| 2003 | United States | 48.4% |
| 2004 | United States | 42.4% |
| 2005 | United States | 39.4% |
| 2006 | United States | 37.9% |
| 2007 | United States | 36.3% |
| 2008 | United States | 36.6% |
| 2009 | United States | 41.7% |
| 2010 | United States | 45.4% |
| 2011 | United States | 45.8% |
| 2012 | United States | 51% |
| 2013 | United States | 48.9% |
| 2014 | United States | 44.8% |
| 2015 | United States | 39.7% |
| 2016 | United States | 37.3% |
| 2017 | United States | 38.9% |
| 2018 | United States | 38.5% |
| 2019 | United States | 39% |
| 2020 | United States | 38.1% |
| 2021 | United States | 37.3% |
| 2022 | United States | 38.9% |
| 2023 | United States | 37.7% |
| 2024 | United States | 36.5% |
Its suppliers
Products with a dominant supplier
Of the 747 products Costa Rica buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.
| Product | Supplier | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refined petroleum | United States | 84%over 75% | Netherlands · 8.9% | $2.3 billion |
| Medical and dental instruments | United States | 72.4% | China · 4.3% | $772 million |
| Other plastic articles | United States | 59.5% | China · 14.3% | $382 million |
| Plastic pipes and hoses | United States | 78.9%over 75% | Mexico · 5.2% | $324 million |
| Corn | United States | 59.1% | Brazil · 39.9% | $254 million |
| Uncoated paper | United States | 88.3%over 75% | Poland · 3.4% | $220 million |
| Microchips | United States | 51.2% | China · 22.3% | $194 million |
| Rice | Brazil | 64.8% | Uruguay · 17.3% | $171 million |
| Orthopedic and hearing devices | United States | 67% | Singapore · 5.8% | $165 million |
| Stainless steel wire | United States | 62.9% | Malaysia · 10.7% | $154 million |
| Natural gas and LPG | United States | 92%over 75% | Dominican Republic · 1.9% | $151 million |
| Copper wire | Chile | 64% | Germany · 29.5% | $149 million |
| Monitors and projectors | China | 61.9% | Mexico · 26.3% | $148 million |
| Soybeans | United States | 62.5% | Brazil · 37.5% | $131 million |
| Cold-rolled flat steel | China | 56.2% | Japan · 43.1% | $129 million |
| Alloy steel sheet | China | 91%over 75% | South Korea · 4.3% | $120 million |
| Other iron or steel articles | United States | 54% | Ireland · 18.8% | $119 million |
| New tires | China | 70.1% | United States · 4.4% | $116 million |
| Motorcycles | China | 52.4% | India · 18.6% | $115 million |
| Nitrogen fertilizers | Russia | 51.8% | China · 12.6% | $107 million |
| Dried legumes (beans, lentils, peas) | United States | 72.9% | Nicaragua · 19.1% | $107 million |
| Polyethylene | United States | 72.4% | Mexico · 13.7% | $101 million |
| Wheat | Canada | 73.4% | United States · 26.2% | $96 million |
| Pork | United States | 60.6% | Chile · 35.7% | $96 million |
| Electric heaters and hair dryers | China | 70% | United States · 12.3% | $94 million |
and 306 more
A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.
Selling: who it relies on
- Largest customer: United States
- 38.5%
- Concentration (HHI)
- 1,653
Concentration index (HHI): 1,653 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 6 customers of the same size
Trend in shares
The United States went from 45.9% to 38.5% of what Costa Rica sells
Share (%)
- United States 38.5%
- Netherlands 6.8%
- China 5.2%
- Mexico 4.8%
- Guatemala 3.7%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Largest customer | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | United States | 45.9% |
| 1996 | United States | 45.3% |
| 1997 | United States | 49.1% |
| 1998 | United States | 44% |
| 1999 | United States | 52.6% |
| 2000 | United States | 48% |
| 2001 | United States | 45.8% |
| 2002 | United States | 43.1% |
| 2003 | United States | 35.3% |
| 2004 | United States | 33.1% |
| 2005 | United States | 31.4% |
| 2006 | United States | 32.7% |
| 2007 | United States | 28.6% |
| 2008 | United States | 28.3% |
| 2009 | United States | 31.3% |
| 2010 | United States | 35.8% |
| 2011 | United States | 38.3% |
| 2012 | United States | 38.2% |
| 2013 | United States | 36.1% |
| 2014 | United States | 23.8% |
| 2015 | United States | 33.9% |
| 2016 | United States | 33.4% |
| 2017 | United States | 34.5% |
| 2018 | United States | 34.1% |
| 2019 | United States | 35.1% |
| 2020 | United States | 34.4% |
| 2021 | United States | 33.7% |
| 2022 | United States | 36.2% |
| 2023 | United States | 38.8% |
| 2024 | United States | 38.5% |
166 of the 347 products Costa Rica sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what Costa Rica sells of that product; in 76, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 28.1% of what Costa Rica sells.
| Product | Customer | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical and dental instruments | United States | 59.4% | Netherlands · 10.8% | $7.4 billion |
| Orthopedic and hearing devices | United States | 52% | Netherlands · 13.6% | $2.4 billion |
| New tires | United States | 66.2% | Canada · 8.3% | $210 million |
| Cassava and other roots | United States | 67.1% | Netherlands · 9.9% | $177 million |
| Massage and respiratory therapy devices | United States | 74.3% | Singapore · 4.6% | $157 million |
| Frozen fruit | United States | 52% | Canada · 10.1% | $119 million |
| Cane and beet sugar | United States | 70.3% | Germany · 6.6% | $117 million |
| Other rubber articles | United States | 62.3% | Brazil · 9.8% | $113 million |
| Optical fibers and lenses | United States | 66.9% | Japan · 9.9% | $101 million |
| Blended cotton yarn | Guatemala | 97.2%over 75% | El Salvador · 2.7% | $75 million |
| Other plastic sheets | United States | 52% | Mexico · 12.1% | $72 million |
| Platinum | United States | 60.7% | Malaysia · 39.3% | $67 million |
| Vehicle lights and signals | United States | 84.8%over 75% | Mexico · 6.3% | $67 million |
| Other fresh vegetables | United States | 82.8%over 75% | Canada · 5.4% | $67 million |
| Soft drinks | Panama | 51.2% | Nicaragua · 24% | $65 million |
and 151 more
Concentration compared
The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).
| Rank | Country | HHI |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Bangladesh | 1,728 |
| 74 | Paraguay | 1,724 |
| 75 | Costa Rica | 1,719 |
| 76 | Iraq | 1,694 |
| 77 | Turkmenistan | 1,639 |
| 78 | Macao | 1,630 |
Links
- Trade profile of Costa Rica
- Trade between Costa Rica and China
- Trade between Costa Rica and Guatemala
- Trade between Costa Rica and Mexico
- Trade between Costa Rica and the Netherlands
- Trade between Costa Rica and the United States
- Dependence of Costa Rica on the United States
- Dependence of Costa Rica on China
- All countries
Sources and method
Sources and licenses
- CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
- Natural Earth · Public domain
Methodology
The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.
Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.
The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.
Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.
The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.
Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.