Northwest Horticultural Council
Export Manual
COSTA RICA
Capital: San JosePopulation: 5,265,575 (2024)
Currency: Colon
Official Language(s): Spanish
I. CHEMICAL MAXIMUM RESIDUE LEVELS (MRLs)
Click here for a list of chemical MRLs, then click on Costa Rica
Click here for Top Market MRLs, then select Pears
II. CHEMICALS AND ADDITIVE INFORMATION
A. Chemical residue standards:
Costa Rica maintains a national MRL list and defers to Codex in the absence of an MRL. In those cases where no MRL is established by Codex, MRLs established by U.S. EPA or European Union will be applied. If the values differ, the highest nominal value will be adopted.
B. Monitoring chemical residues:
Costa Rica actively monitors chemical residues on imported fruit. Shippers should pay close attention to chemical maximum residue levels listed in Section I above.
C. Restrictions on use of waxes:
Costa Rica follows U.S. established regulations on the use of waxes.
III. ORGANIC FRUIT REGULATIONS
No information.
IV. TARIFFS
As agreed under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, the tariff rate for U.S. apples, pears and cherries is zero.
In order for importers to obtain this preferential duty-free rate a Certificate of Origin must be provided. See section Chapter V, Section F for more information.
V. NON-TARIFF BARRIERS
A. Labeling requirements:
Labels should be in Spanish and should include the following: Name of product, country of origin, name and address of the importer, net weight, U.S. quality grade. Net weight should be expressed in the metric system.
B. Licenses and quotas:
None.
C. Currency Issues:
Importers are no longer required to make prior deposits in Colones with the Central Bank. Importers can freely obtain foreign exchange at this time with no prior deposits.
D. Pest and plant disease restrictions:
Apples
From Washington:
● Phytosanitary certificate is required.
● Additional Declaration:
“This shipment has been officially inspected and found free from Cydia pomonella and Grapholita molesta.”
From Oregon:
● Phytosanitary certificate is required.
● Additional Declaration:
“The shipment has been officially inspected and found free from Cydia pomonella.”
From Idaho:
● Phytosanitary and Import Permit are required.
● No Additional Declaration required
Pear
Phytosanitary certificate and import permits are required for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
● Additional Declarations:
Washington: “The shipment is free from Cydia pomonella and Grapholita molesta.”
Oregon: “The shipment has been officially inspected and found free from Cydia pomonella.”
Idaho: N/A
Cherry
Phytosanitary certificate and import permits are required for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
● Additional Declarations:
Washington: “The shipment has been officially inspected and found free from Cydia pomonella and Grapholita molesta.”
Oregon: “The shipment is from Cydia pomonella.”
Idaho: “The shipment has been officially inspected and found free from Grapholita molesta.”
Costa Rica previously had a history of rejecting shipments for the detection of plant pests that were not listed as quarantine pests in USDA’s export database. In January 2018 they issued an updated list of regulated pests for multiple crops. Some regulated pests may be found in Pacific Northwest orchards, and if they are detected in shipments upon arrival in Costa Rica can result in rejection of the shipment or the requirement that loads be fumigated with methyl bromide.
Regulated Pests
For a list of regulated pests, go to USDA’s Phytosanitary Export Database (PExD) by entering “PExD” in the search bar of your internet browser, click on the “Welcome to PExD” link, choose Costa Rica from the drop-down box. On the main screen for Costa Rica, click on the “Harmful Organisms” tab in the upper, left-hand pane. This will take you to a full list of quarantine pests for all commodities. Search by the top-tabs of the grey box for specific “Bacteria, Fungi, Insects & Mites,” etc.
The NHC strongly advises that shippers work closely with your field staff, quality control, and state inspection officials when certifying loads for export to Costa Rica to try to avoid rejections on arrival.
E. Certificate of Origin
A Certificate of Origin must accompany any shipment in order to obtain the preferential duty free tariff provided under the DR-CAFTA.
There is no official Certification of Origin form. However, a “suggested form” for imports under DR-CAFTA, including instructions on how to fill in the form may be found at Certificate of Origin.
Special attention should be paid to entering the correct “preferential tariff treatment criteria” under box 7 of the suggested form. For fruit exported from the Pacific Northwest, the correct entry is the capital letter A; which designates the import as “it is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more of the Parties.”
VI. MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST TREE FRUIT INDUSTRY:
Washington Apple Commission:
Tatiana Quiros
E-mail: [email protected]
Pear Bureau Northwest:
Luis Moreno
Grupo PM S.A. de C.V.
Cuernavaca, Mexico
Voice: +52 777 316 7370
Fax: +52 777 316 7369
E-mail: [email protected]
VII. OTHER RESOURCE LINKS:
Governmental:
VIII. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act was signed by President Bush on August 2, 2005. Implementation of the FTA with Costa Rica began on January 1, 2009.