Buying and selling are essential for any country to develop its economy and maintain good relations with other nations. The first table below shows top trading partners of Costa Rica in terms of export sales (selling), including United States, China, and Netherlands. The second lists top trade partners of Costa Rica regarding import total (buying). That is, most products are imported from these countries to Costa Rica.
Costa Rica Major Exports
Market Value: 7,410 (millions) – Last Updated: June, 2019
| Rank | Country (Exports To) | Trade Value (thousands) | Share (%) | Growth (% 5yr) |
| 1 | United States | 3,624,957 | 48.92 | 37.00 |
| 2 | China | 603,724 | 8.15 | 271.17 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 484,084 | 6.53 | 46.18 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 384,889 | 5.19 | 182.14 |
| 5 | Belgium | 307,149 | 4.14 | 181.14 |
| 6 | Mexico | 229,379 | 3.10 | 28.57 |
| 7 | Germany | 204,530 | 2.76 | (13.22) |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 175,570 | 2.37 | 148.64 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 161,591 | 2.18 | 26.08 |
| 10 | Italy | 137,222 | 1.85 | 96.03 |
| 11 | Ireland | 127,697 | 1.72 | 307.55 |
| 12 | South Korea | 107,119 | 1.45 | 878.48 |
| 13 | Japan | 80,149 | 1.08 | 97.00 |
| 14 | Malaysia | 64,176 | 0.87 | (60.10) |
| 15 | Colombia | 63,207 | 0.85 | 99.78 |
| 16 | France | 62,067 | 0.84 | 65.13 |
| 17 | Spain | 61,373 | 0.83 | 137.39 |
| 18 | Brazil | 49,101 | 0.66 | 171.34 |
| 19 | Canada | 44,644 | 0.60 | 36.35 |
| 20 | Jamaica | 40,713 | 0.55 | 5.14 |
| 21 | Venezuela | 34,874 | 0.47 | 2.42 |
| 22 | Portugal | 34,406 | 0.46 | 204.72 |
| 23 | Switzerland | 33,512 | 0.45 | 692.87 |
| 24 | Russia | 32,507 | 0.44 | 552.91 |
| 25 | North Korea | 30,724 | 0.41 | 251,569.28 |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | 26,090 | 0.35 | 59.74 |
| 27 | India | 23,354 | 0.32 | 203.76 |
| 28 | Sweden | 22,048 | 0.30 | (70.04) |
| 29 | Singapore | 21,495 | 0.29 | (14.51) |
| 30 | Philippines | 20,462 | 0.28 | (12.33) |
| 31 | Chile | 14,829 | 0.20 | 40.56 |
| 32 | Ecuador | 14,196 | 0.19 | (6.50) |
| 33 | Peru | 14,033 | 0.19 | 51.30 |
| 34 | Indonesia | 11,073 | 0.15 | 539.60 |
| 35 | Thailand | 8,923 | 0.12 | 172.62 |
| 36 | Cuba | 7,712 | 0.10 | (25.97) |
| 37 | Haiti | 7,607 | 0.10 | 64.07 |
Costa Rica Major Imports
Market Value: 11,898 (millions) – Last Updated: June, 2019
| Rank | Country (Imports From) | Trade Value (thousands) | Share (%) | Growth (% 5yr) |
| 1 | United States | 5,315,502 | 44.68 | 47.80 |
| 2 | Japan | 762,003 | 6.40 | 57.61 |
| 3 | Mexico | 753,023 | 6.33 | 80.28 |
| 4 | Venezuela | 683,171 | 5.74 | 108.38 |
| 5 | China | 598,991 | 5.03 | 121.89 |
| 6 | Aruba | 491,113 | 4.13 | 689.07 |
| 7 | Ireland | 432,467 | 3.63 | 855.73 |
| 8 | Brazil | 312,934 | 2.63 | (10.62) |
| 9 | Netherlands Antilles | 300,560 | 2.53 | 715.78 |
| 10 | Colombia | 286,646 | 2.41 | 3.32 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 236,567 | 1.99 | 79.34 |
| 12 | South Korea | 235,513 | 1.98 | 92.18 |
| 13 | Chile | 163,252 | 1.37 | 49.72 |
| 14 | Germany | 157,691 | 1.33 | (10.31) |
| 15 | Switzerland | 117,319 | 0.99 | 68.03 |
| 16 | Canada | 104,814 | 0.88 | 29.07 |
| 17 | Thailand | 96,676 | 0.81 | 296.89 |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 79,950 | 0.67 | (5.16) |
| 19 | France | 77,358 | 0.65 | (14.82) |
| 20 | Dominican Republic | 65,447 | 0.55 | 437.99 |
| 21 | Spain | 59,082 | 0.50 | (46.50) |
| 22 | Italy | 58,494 | 0.49 | (34.24) |
| 23 | Russia | 54,011 | 0.45 | 228.26 |
| 24 | Trinidad and Tobago | 51,078 | 0.43 | 173.38 |
| 25 | Belgium | 38,268 | 0.32 | (9.72) |
| 26 | Cuba | 33,334 | 0.28 | 308.79 |
| 27 | Malaysia | 32,707 | 0.27 | 41.80 |
| 28 | Israel | 29,882 | 0.25 | 41.38 |
| 29 | Philippines | 29,809 | 0.25 | 190.87 |
| 30 | India | 28,880 | 0.24 | 52.32 |
| 31 | Norway | 27,521 | 0.23 | 380.96 |
| 32 | Austria | 16,957 | 0.14 | 115.97 |
| 33 | Hong Kong | 15,615 | 0.13 | (72.65) |
| 34 | Denmark | 15,553 | 0.13 | 38.21 |
| 35 | Singapore | 14,846 | 0.12 | (22.10) |
| 36 | Uruguay | 14,624 | 0.12 | 23.80 |