Economic Life
Traditionally an agricultural economy, ironically, the two products for which Costa Rica is perhaps best known--coffee and bananas--are not endemic to Costa Rica. Coffee was brought to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1808, and in 1874, a U.S. engineer, Minor Keith, began planting banana trees along the train tracks he was hired to build. The train was a bust, but Keith's banana planting eventually grew into the United Fruit Company.
Perhaps even more surprising than the fact that coffee and bananas are not native to Costa Rica is the fact that pineapples have surpassed coffee as the number two agricultural export. In addition to bananas, pineapples and coffee, other important economic resources include sugar, oranges, rice, hardwoods, ornamental plants, cattle raising, and dairy products.
Although large coffee, pineapple and banana plantations as well as ornamental plant farms are still pervasive throughout the countryside, tourism is undeniably the driving force behind Costa Rica's economy. With 25% of the country protected in reserves and national parks, it's easy to see why Costa Rica is renowned for its ecotourism.
The Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT) developed the Sustainability Certification program (CST) in order to categorize and rank Costa Rican hotels with respect to their management of natural, cultural and social resources. ICT also instituted the Blue Flag Ecological Program in response to the imminent dangers of beach pollution, its repercussions on public health and the impact of the tourism industry. The government has also begun an initiative to make Costa Rica the first carbon neutral country by the year 2021.
Because of its outstanding educational system and social and political stability, largely resulting from the fact that Costa Rica has not had a military in 60 years, Costa Rica has attracted substantial foreign investment. Important manufacturing and industry include textiles, apparel, construction materials, fertilizer, electronic components, food processing, integrated circuits, plastic products, and medical equipment.
Costa Rica is home to numerous multinational corporations, including Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor & Gamble, Baxter Pharmaceuticals, Coca-Cola, Intel Corporation, Hewlett Packard, and, of course, Dole and Chiquita. Due to the population's strong work ethic, high level of literacy and command of computers, Costa Rica excels at setting up logistics and customer service centers.
Costa Rica functions under free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, Canada, and, more recently, US and Central America. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed in 2007 and implemented January 1, 2009 promises to invite more foreign investment in the country. Many see this as the road to continual progress and modernizing infrastructure and telecommunications in Costa Rica while others fear the further incursion of large multinational corporations will wreak havoc on the environment and erode the stabile middle class.
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