Buying Industrial or Farm Land in Costa Rica? Exports Slowed to 4%

October 27, 2026

If you are weighing industrial land, a warehouse, a farm or an export-linked business in Costa Rica, the headline is that goods exports grew only about 4% in the first nine months of 2026, but the growth was lopsided by region. We wrote this for expat and foreign buyers of land and small businesses and for developers of industrial or agricultural property: the regional split matters more to you than the national average.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Goods exports reached US$17.565 billion from January to September, up about 4% on a year earlier, against 15% growth in the same stretch of 2025.
Pacífico Central grew 23% and Brunca 13%, while the Central region and Huetar Atlántica managed 1% each.
Sales to North America, 48% of the total, slipped 1%, so any buyer relying on US customers should model a softer base case.

What Happened

Procomer, the foreign trade promotion agency, reported goods exports of US$17.565 billion for January to September 2026, about 4% more than a year earlier (Delfino, Semanario Universidad). One outlet computes the rise as 3.75% and calls it the slowest cumulative pace to September in six years (La Nación); the other reports round numbers. Last year’s total was US$16.906 billion per Semanario Universidad.
Precision and medical equipment, 46% of exports, grew just 1%, against 31% a year earlier. Electrical and electronics rose 16%, livestock and fishing 11%, food 9% and agriculture 4% (Semanario Universidad).
Within farm products, plantain rose 55%, pineapple 10% and banana 6%, while gold coffee fell 8% (El Mundo CR).
By destination, Asia grew 16%, Europe 9%, Central America and South America 8% each, and North America fell 1% (Delfino).
Every region grew; the chart below shows the spread (El Mundo CR, Delfino). The sources do not say what drove the regional differences, and neither do we.

CHART: GOODS EXPORT GROWTH BY REGION, JAN-SEP 2026 VS JAN-SEP 2025 (%)

Region	Goods export growth, Jan-Sep 2026 vs Jan-Sep 2025
Pacífico Central	+23%
Brunca	+13%
Chorotega	+10%
Huetar Norte	+3%
Central	+1%
Huetar Atlántica	+1%

Source: Procomer, preliminary figures, reported by Delfino and El Mundo CR, 26-27 Oct 2026. Regional export values were not reported, only growth rates.

What This Means If You Are Buying

Land and industrial property. Export growth is not the same as demand for your plot. Foreign direct investment (FDI, money that foreign companies put into local operations) reached about US$2.74 billion in the first half, up 23.4%, and free-zone FDI outside the Greater Metropolitan Area rose about 37% to US$149.6 million, per Procomer figures reported by La República. That is a positive sign for sites outside San José, but we could not find a verified current vacancy rate or rent per square metre for industrial space, so we cannot tell you whether those flows are lifting rents. Ask any seller or broker for dated, sourced vacancy data and treat their own figures as unverified.

Farms and agribusiness. Agriculture is 17% of goods exports and grew only 4%, with coffee down 8% and plantain up 55%. If you are buying a farm, the crop matters far more than the national number. Check the buyer contracts, the water rights and the harvest history for that specific property. A 12.5% US tariff has applied to many Costa Rican goods since 24 July, with coffee, pineapple, bananas and orange juice excluded (Comex), which is part of why crop mix matters. We found no authoritative figure for how much of export value the tariff covers.

Export-linked small businesses. A seller will quote last year’s revenue. Ask for 2026 year-to-date sales by customer country, because North America is almost half of exports and is shrinking slightly. The medical-device sector, 46% of exports, grew just 1% this year after a 31% jump last year; a supplier to that chain should be priced on a flat year, not a repeat.

Who pays what. Buyers carry the downside of a slower customer base, while sellers rarely volunteer it. We have not published an all-in closing-cost table today because we could not verify current figures from at least two sources; your Costa Rican attorney or notary can price transfer taxes, registry fees and legal costs for your own deal.

What Could Go Wrong

A regional growth rate can be driven by one or two exporters; a +23% region may owe it to a single plant. Ask what share of the growth came from one company.
The figures are preliminary and will be revised; Procomer’s own release carries that caveat.
Jobs are under pressure: unemployment was 6.7% in June to August versus 6.0% a year earlier, and at least nine multinationals have cut or moved operations in three years, according to Infobae. That can soften local demand for housing and rentals near affected plants.
Tariff policy can change again, and a business built on one US customer can lose it quickly.
Land near free zones can carry zoning, water and power constraints that no export statistic reveals; confirm with the municipality, AyA and the electric utility before paying.
The upside case: if Asian and European sales keep growing at 16% and 9% while North America stabilises, exporters outside the capital region keep expanding. Evidence would be two more months of regional growth and new free-zone projects with named tenants.

Your Next Steps

Expat buyers of land or a farm: ask for 24 months of production and sales by buyer, and have a Costa Rican attorney check title, water and zoning before you pay a deposit.
Small-business buyers: request year-to-date 2026 sales by customer country and compare them with 2025; discount any seller projection that assumes North American growth. Our read, not a forecast: price a flat year.
Developers: before committing to speculative industrial space outside the Greater Metropolitan Area, ask for named tenants and verified vacancy, not export growth rates.
Local investors: treat regional export growth as a screening signal, then check labour data and your own cash flow in colones before leaning on it.

What to watch next: the Fed’s rate decision on 28 October, which sets the tone for dollar financing, and Procomer’s October export release, whose date has not been announced (Rio Times calendar).

LATAM Business Watch

What else moved in Latin American business this week, with sources.

Colombia · Debt: On 26 October the government sold US$5.2 billion of dollar bonds in three tranches (5-, 10- and 30-year) at 7.05%, 7.65% and about 8.15%, per La República. Why it matters: it sets a regional benchmark for what dollar borrowing costs, which feeds into developer and private-credit pricing.
Costa Rica · Regulation: Prosecutors raided Santa Cruz’s municipality and other sites on 20 October in an inquiry into coastal concessions and construction permits; nine people are under investigation and none was detained, according to La Teja and Infobae. No guilt has been established. Why it matters: Guanacaste buyers of concession or permit-dependent assets should verify files with an attorney.
Chile · Debt: Holding company ILC placed UF 2 million (about US$84 million) of bonds on 22 October at an average 3.33%, rated AA+, to refinance liabilities (Diario Financiero). Why it matters: it shows a local-currency bond window open for investment-grade issuers.
Brazil · Venture: Industrial-AI company Tractian raised US$130 million in a Series D, in the week to 23 October (Techloy). Why it matters: late-stage capital remains available in the region for proven operators.

Items reflect public reports on the dates shown; deal terms are as reported by the sources and may change.

Resumen en español

Las exportaciones de bienes de Costa Rica sumaron US$17.565 millones de enero a setiembre de 2026, cerca de 4% más que un año antes, frente a 15% en 2025 (Procomer).
El crecimiento fue desigual: Pacífico Central creció 23% y Brunca 13%, mientras Central y Huetar Atlántica crecieron 1%; las ventas a Norteamérica (48% del total) cayeron 1%.
Antes de comprar tierra, una finca o un negocio exportador, pida ventas de 2026 por país de destino y consulte a un abogado o notario costarricense. A seguir: la decisión de la Fed del 28 de octubre.

Data as of 27 October 2026. Figures marked preliminary will be revised. This is general market commentary, not investment advice. Consult a Costa Rican attorney or notary for your own transaction.

Sources

Need this analysis for a specific deal?

We research the market, the asset and the rules behind your decision, sourced and dated, in English or Spanish.

Commission a research brief

Get the Next One in Your Inbox

No noise, no sales pitch — just the research, when it’s published.

Next step: check your inbox (and spam folder) for our confirmation email and click the link to start receiving the research.

One response to “Buying Industrial or Farm Land in Costa Rica? Exports Slowed to 4%”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply