During this year’s first semester, the exports of the medical devices industry increased its presence in Japan, Netherlands and the United States. This behavior is shown on recent results published by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER).

The medical devices exports to Japan increased 82%, followed by Netherlands with 53% and the United States with 4%. The total exports of this sector represented 27% of all the goods exported by Costa Rica, locating it in second place, since the agricultural sector represented 28%. The Life Sciences sector exports increased 13% compared to last year, which represents $181 million more.

The total value of the medical devices exports was $1,532 million. This increase makes this sector one of the main goods that boost the country’s economy.

“Costa Rica’s medical devices industry is one of the sectors that experimented a constant growth, even after the 2008 recession. This is due to, mainly, Costa Rica’s human talent and the country’s reputation, making it into an ideal provider to the world. This success goes hand to hand with an ecosystem of providers, academia and institutional aid that make the country a magnet for more companies to establish in Costa Rica”, said Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).

The medical devices exports have grown three times compared to 2007, which turn Costa Rica into Latin America’s second biggest exporter within the industry.

According to CINDE, part of the medical devices exported by Costa Rica are: medical instruments, disposables, therapeutic devices and diagnostic equipment.

The Life Sciences sector has grown noticeably: last year it had 72 companies in the country compared to 8 in 2000.

PRESS RELEASE CINDE