Britain & Latin America Logistics - Imports from Costa Rica

Importing Products from COSTA RICA

Location: Costa Rica is a republic in Central America, it borders Nicaragua to the North, Panama to the South, the Atlantic Ocean to the East, and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The capital and largest city is San Jose.

Is there a trade agreement between Costa Rica and the UK? Yes, as part of the UK-Central America association agreement. The agreement maintains at present the same tariff preferences that are contained in the Central American treaty with the European Union. The other countries included in this trade association are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Costa Rican national currency: Colon (CRC).

Official language: Spanish.

Shipping from Costa Rica to the UK

Transit time via air from Costa Rica to airport in the UK is approximately 3 days. Costa Rica's main cargo international airport is Juan Santamaria, located in the city of Alajuela, 20 km west of San Jose's city centre.

Transit time via sea from Costa Rica to a port in the UK is approximately 28 days. Costa Rica's main sea ports are Limon at the Atlantic side and Caldera at the Pacific side.

Import documents required include packing list, commercial invoice, and health / organic / EUR1 / phytosanitary certificate(s) where applicable. Requirements for the exporter in Costa Rica include having a tax indentification number. Requirements for the importer in Britain include having an EORI number.

Top-10 product types imported from Costa Rica to United Kingdom in 2023

M: Millions USD. Source: TRADING ECONOMICS / UN Comtrade

Where to search for Costa Rican products/exporters

Contact PROCOMER, the official institution in charge of the commercial promotion of exports in Costa Rica.

Import taxes/restrictions in the United Kingdom

Visit the UK Trade Tariff (official UK tariff classification site) to consult the applicable import taxes and restrictions (if any) to Costa Rican products. This is done by entering either the tariff code or the description of the particular commodity on the site's search tool.