FAOSTAT · 2024

Agricultural production in Costa Rica

According to FAOSTAT, Costa Rica produced 72,256 t of cereals, 195,987 t of vegetables, 6.7 million t of fruit, 302,665 t of meat and 1.3 million t of milk in 2024. Its largest crops by volume were sugar cane (4.1 million t), pineapples (3.1 million t) and bananas (2.6 million t).

Market prices in Costa Rica

Products recorded: 100
World #1: 1; products
World top 10: 3; products
Year: 2024

Costa Rica is the world’s largest producer of pineapples, and ranks second or third for 1 other product.

Among its twelve largest crops, the biggest ten-year change was in palm kernels (+76%), followed by rice (−71%).

Livestock numbers: 1.6 million cattle, 559,743 pigs, 2,896 sheep and 77,954 goats.

Totals by group

Group	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
All fruit	6,677,634	30	0.7%	+4.7%
All sugar crops	4,139,275	45	0.19%	−7.9%
All milk	1,284,920	72	0.13%	+17%
All meat	302,665	93	0.08%	+13%
All citrus fruit	242,992	49	0.15%	−11%
All roots and tubers	204,719	124	0.02%	−37%
All vegetables	195,987	120	0.02%	−5.7%
All eggs	89,969	57	0.09%	+49%
All cereals	72,256	144	0%	−69%
All pulses	11,050	121	0.01%	−31%
All tree nuts	34	112	0%	−85%

All products by volume, 2024

Product	Tonnes	World rank	Share	10-year change
Sugar cane	4,139,275	33	0.21%	−7.9%
Pineapples	3,118,093	1	10.62%	+8.3%
Bananas	2,630,020	14	1.89%	+8.9%
Cow milk	1,268,230	67	0.16%	+18%
Oil palm fruit	1,225,774	17	0.29%	+39%
Other fruits, n.e.c.	369,112	18	0.94%	+12%
Raw sugar	350,242	50	0.19%	−24%
Palm oil	280,463	17	0.35%	−6.5%
Oranges	185,028	34	0.28%	−16%
Skim milk of cows	164,518	61	0.12%	+19%
Beer	157,600	84	0.09%	+189%
Molasses	145,934	41	0.2%	−26%
Chicken meat	143,677	73	0.11%	+16%
Beef (cattle meat)	94,191	72	0.14%	+6.8%
Palm kernels	92,000	14	0.48%	+76%
Cassava	91,505	54	0.03%	−48%
Hen eggs	89,969	57	0.1%	+49%
Plantains	81,657	27	0.18%	−18%
Potatoes	75,242	109	0.02%	−2.0%
Pork (pig meat)	64,521	64	0.05%	+17%
Rice (paddy)	64,214	80	0.01%	−71%
Watermelons	63,140	71	0.06%	+7.1%
Coffee, green	62,154	20	0.55%	−36%
Tomatoes	58,765	94	0.03%	+15%
Melons	58,102	39	0.21%	−66%
Papayas	54,791	23	0.37%	−39%
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	48,991	95	0.02%	+1.2%
Soya bean oil	46,800	43	0.08%	+14%
Oil of palm kernel	40,500	12	0.48%	+94%
Onions, dry	36,590	92	0.03%	−4.6%
Lemons and limes	36,278	41	0.16%	+9.3%
Mangoes and guavas	29,487	52	0.05%	−31%
Cabbages	24,084	91	0.03%	−27%
Cheese from skimmed cow milk	23,640	18	0.86%	+96%
Carrots and turnips	23,378	80	0.05%	−29%
Grapefruit and pomelos	21,686	25	0.22%	+6.0%
Whole milk powder	20,456	26	0.41%	+17%
Coconuts, in shell	19,862	44	0.03%	+63%
Other oil seeds, n.e.c.	17,493	30	0.72%	+57%
Goat milk	16,690	67	0.08%	−24%
Yams	16,541	34	0.02%	−45%
Avocados	15,908	35	0.14%	+1,242%
Raw hides and skins of cattle	15,570	57	0.18%	+6.8%
Pig fat, rendered	12,960	33	0.21%	+11%
Yautia	11,213	6	2.88%	−63%
Beans, dry	11,050	67	0.04%	−31%
Edible offal of cattle, fresh, chilled or frozen	9,227	75	0.1%	+6.8%
Other tropical fruits, n.e.c.	8,754	43	0.04%	−15%
Butter of cow milk	8,659	52	0.14%	+19%
Other starchy roots and tubers	8,455	38	0.09%	−38%
Maize	8,042	133	0%	−23%
Tallow	5,091	40	0.06%	+109%
Strawberries	4,771	54	0.04%	−23%
Yoghurt	3,897	35	0.08%	—
Ginger	3,888	23	0.08%	+81%
Cattle fat, unrendered	3,460	54	0.1%	+6.8%
Margarine and shortening	3,216	77	0.02%	−5.8%
Edible offal of pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen	3,056	51	0.04%	+17%
Fat of pigs	3,056	47	0.03%	+17%
Cheese from whole cow milk	2,537	81	0.01%	+21%
Sweet potatoes	1,764	89	0%	+194%
Skim milk and whey powder	1,688	48	0.04%	+20%
Cucumbers	1,683	111	0%	+3.1%
Pepper (black, white)	1,658	22	0.18%	−15%
Buttermilk, dry	1,555	50	0.24%	—
Abaca, manila hemp	1,264	3	1.16%	+2.7%
Cocoa beans	1,000	35	0.02%	+43%
Honey	953	81	0.05%	+28%
Other berries and fruits of the genus vaccinium n.e.c.	808	42	0.07%	−7.0%
Seed cotton	717	70	0%	+8.6%
Chillies and peppers, green	605	113	0%	+7.7%
Lettuce and chicory	561	84	0%	+1.1%
Other beans, green	465	91	0%	+6.2%
Cotton seed	397	73	0%	−62%
Cauliflower and broccoli	370	87	0%	−3.4%
Goat meat	260	123	0%	−9.7%
Cotton lint	257	72	0%	−61%
Coconut oil	233	48	0.01%	−8.3%
Groundnuts (peanuts)	228	98	0%	+4.6%
Oil of sesame seed	167	54	0.01%	−16%
Sesame seed	164	64	0%	+5.1%
Asparagus	134	41	0%	−2.9%
Oil of linseed	134	50	0.02%	−5.6%
Eggplants	98	94	0%	+8.9%
Spring onions and shallots	96	46	0%	+5.5%
Beeswax	85	33	0.13%	−3.4%
Leeks	76	55	0%	+4.1%
Spinach	64	65	0%	+3.2%
Edible offal of goat, fresh, chilled or frozen	54	107	0%	−10%
Raw hides and skins of goats or kids	54	108	0%	−10%
Tea, packed	41	104	0%	—
Other nuts	34	62	0%	−85%
Cottonseed oil	31	75	0%	+3,000%
Artichokes	28	27	0%	−3.4%
Tobacco, unmanufactured	17	114	0%	−72%
Sheep meat	16	167	0%	+6.7%
Goat fat, unrendered	7	112	0%	−13%
Edible offal of sheep, fresh, chilled or frozen	3	141	0%	0.0%
Raw hides and skins of sheep or lambs	3	139	0%	0.0%
Sheep fat, unrendered	1	135	0%	0.0%

Live animals, 2024

Product	Head	World rank	Share	10-year change
Chickens	23,865,000	86	0.09%	+2.0%
Cattle	1,576,149	93	0.1%	+21%
Pigs	559,743	76	0.06%	+18%
Horses	117,571	45	0.21%	+76%
Goats	77,954	127	0.01%	−2.6%
Bees	40,769	74	0.04%	−11%
Asses	7,322	71	0.01%	+443%
Mules and hinnies	4,933	33	0.06%	+81%
Sheep	2,896	170	0%	+1.3%

Costa Rica among the world’s producers, 2024

Share of world production by country for the largest crops of Costa Rica, which is outlined on the map.

Product

under 0.1%0.1–1%1–5%5–15%15% or moreno data
Small island states are not drawn at this scale.

Production per person, 2024

Costa Rica had 5.1 million inhabitants in 2024 (FAOSTAT estimate). Production of its largest products per inhabitant, compared with the world average:

Product	kg per person	World, kg per person	Ratio
Sugar cane	807	238	3.4×
Pineapples	608	3.60	168.9×
Bananas	513	17.1	30.0×
Cow milk	247	97.7	2.5×
Oil palm fruit	239	51.3	4.7×
Other fruits, n.e.c.	72.0	4.81	15.0×
Raw sugar	68.3	23.0	3.0×
Palm oil	54.7	9.75	5.6×
Oranges	36.1	8.24	4.4×
Skim milk of cows	32.1	17.5	1.8×
Beer	30.7	22.7	1.4×
Molasses	28.4	8.98	3.2×

Production divided by population; it is not consumption, because crops are traded and used for feed, processing and industry.

Trade in agricultural products, 2024

Costa Rica reported exports of 105 and imports of 125 of the products covered here; it was the world’s largest exporter of pineapples.

Largest exports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Pineapples	2,202,527	USD 1.36 bn	0.62	1 of 105
Bananas	2,227,060	USD 1.20 bn	0.54	4 of 107
Coffee, green	63,650	USD 345 m	5.42	16 of 131
Palm oil	209,250	USD 217 m	1.04	10 of 118
Raw cane or beet sugar (centrifugal only)	131,025	USD 86.0 m	0.66	15 of 111
Other vegetables, fresh n.e.c.	43,611	USD 50.8 m	1.16	17 of 132
Cantaloupes and other melons	57,323	USD 43.2 m	0.75	10 of 105
Raw milk of cattle	31,222	USD 37.8 m	1.21	30 of 110
Watermelons	65,418	USD 36.7 m	0.56	15 of 113
Whole milk powder	5,824	USD 35.0 m	6.00	31 of 104

Largest imports by value

Product	Tonnes	Value	USD/kg	World rank
Maize (corn)	1,071,573	USD 261 m	0.24	37 of 190
Rice	294,834	USD 156 m	0.53	5 of 149
Soya beans	264,412	USD 132 m	0.50	35 of 165
Wheat	292,672	USD 96.4 m	0.33	77 of 176
Meat of pig with the bone, fresh or chilled	28,121	USD 95.9 m	3.41	25 of 168
Beans, dry	47,775	USD 70.2 m	1.47	25 of 185
Cheese from whole cow milk	7,710	USD 51.2 m	6.64	75 of 192
Wine	12,685	USD 38.4 m	3.03	63 of 192
Avocados	14,024	USD 38.1 m	2.72	28 of 147
Meat of chickens, fresh or chilled	22,188	USD 37.4 m	1.68	80 of 189

FAOSTAT detailed trade data, release of 23 July 2026: quantities in tonnes and values in current US dollars as reported; exports include re-exports. Only the FAO trade items that match Husfarm production pages are included: meat covers fresh or chilled meat only (frozen meat is a separate item), and processed goods such as milled rice or flour are not listed.

Questions and answers

What are the main crops produced in Costa Rica?

By volume, the largest products of Costa Rica in 2024 were sugar cane (4.1 million t), pineapples (3.1 million t), bananas (2.6 million t), according to FAOSTAT.

Is Costa Rica the world’s largest producer of anything?

Yes. In 2024 Costa Rica was the world’s largest producer of 1 product: pineapples.

How much sugar cane does Costa Rica produce per person?

About 807 kg per inhabitant in 2024, compared with a world average of 238 kg (production divided by population, FAOSTAT).

What does Costa Rica export most?

By value, its largest agricultural exports in 2024 among the products covered here were pineapples (USD 1.36 bn), bananas (USD 1.20 bn), coffee, green (USD 345 m), according to FAOSTAT.

What does Costa Rica import most?

By value, its largest agricultural imports in 2024 among the products covered here were maize (corn) (USD 261 m), rice (USD 156 m), soya beans (USD 132 m).

Where does this data come from?

Production, trade and population figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rankings, shares and per-person figures are calculated by Husfarm.

Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.