Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Name

Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Legal name

Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica

Website

https://comex.go.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Escazú

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Budget Funding: COMEX is a Costa Rican government ministry funded through the national budget. Revenue comes from government appropriations rather than commercial operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

COMEX defines, directs, and executes Costa Rica's foreign trade policy, providing trade facilitation services to exporting and importing firms. It issues origin certifications, administers tariff quotas and the Free Trade Zone regime, promotes and facilitates foreign direct investment, and coordinates border integration initiatives and OECD accession. Its core deliverables are policy instruments, certifications, statistical intelligence, and institutional coordination services for the trade and investment ecosystem.

Product overview

The Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (COMEX) operates as a government ministry providing a portfolio of trade facilitation services rather than a commercial product platform. The core services include the Single Window Document Portal (Ventanilla Única) for electronic document submission, origin certification for preferential trade agreements, foreign direct investment promotion, tariff quota management, and trade statistics portals. Supporting services include the Border Integration Program, National Trade Facilitation Council (CONAFAC), OECD integration support, digital repository, and business registration. These services function as interconnected government platforms designed to facilitate Costa Rica's participation in international trade.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ventanilla Única de Recepción Documental Single electronic window at COMEX where foreign trade operators (exporters, importers, customs brokers, free zone operators) can submit and route trade-related documents. It serves as the converging point of services from multiple public agencies involved in foreign trade procedures.
• Certificación de Origen (Origin Certification) Official service that issues origin certificates to Costa Rican exporting companies, certifying the national origin of goods so they can access preferential tariffs under Costa Rica's network of free trade agreements.
• Promotion and Facilitation of Foreign Direct Investment Government service led by COMEX's Investment and Cooperation directorate to attract, advise, and facilitate foreign direct investment into Costa Rica, providing investors with information on the regulatory environment and coordinating institutional support.
• Contingentes Arancelarios (Tariff Quota Administration) Administration by COMEX of tariff quotas established in WTO and FTA frameworks, including allocation procedures for importers operating under preferential import regimens.
• Estadísticas Comerciales y de Inversión (Trade and Investment Statistics) Publication of official trade and foreign investment statistics through institutional dashboards and reports, serving exporters, importers, investors, researchers, and the general public.
• Registro de Empresas DGME (DGME Company Registry Services) Official company registry service for foreign trade operators, administered by COMEX through its DGME (Dirección General de Mejora Empresarial / equivalent trade registry directorate), supporting compliance and traceability of trade-sector firms.
• Programa de Integración Fronteriza (Border Integration Program) COMEX-led program coordinating with border agencies and neighboring countries to streamline border procedures, harmonize controls, and facilitate legitimate cross-border trade flows.
• CONAFAC Services (National Foreign Trade Quality Council) Coordination services for CONAFAC (Consejo Nacional de Facilitación del Comercio Exterior or equivalent national trade-facilitation council), enabling public-private stakeholder engagement on foreign trade facilitation and quality.
• Proceso de Adhesión a la OCDE (OECD Accession Process) Coordination of Costa Rica's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, including alignment of national policies, inter-agency coordination, and reporting to OECD committees.
• Repositorio Digital Institucional Institutional digital repository maintained by COMEX that centralizes foreign trade-related regulations, statistical publications, reports, and policy documents for public access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Costa Rica surpassed $5,000 million in FDI for second consecutive year in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• PROCOMER (Promotora del Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPROCOMER is the primary strategic ally for trade promotion and export development. PROCOMER manages the export certification process, operates the Origin Unit (Unidad de Origen) for certifying origin under various trade agreements, facilitates business matchmaking programs like Encadenados, and operates regional offices throughout Costa Rica. PROCOMER also runs the Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior for certification services.
• CINDE (Coalición Costarricense de Iniciativas de Desarrollo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCINDE is a key strategic ally in attracting foreign direct investment to Costa Rica. Working jointly with COMEX and PROCOMER, CINDE promotes Costa Rica as an investment destination and supports multinational companies in establishing operations in the country.
• OCDE (Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosta Rica joined the OECD as its 38th member on May 25, 2021. COMEX coordinates Costa Rica's participation in approximately 170 OECD committees, working groups, and expert groups, providing access to best policy practices and international standards.
• WTO (Organización Mundial del Comercio)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOMEX represents Costa Rica in WTO negotiations and disputes. Costa Rica actively participates in WTO ministerial conferences and negotiations on trade facilitation, services, and agricultural policies.
• National Council for Trade Facilitation (CONAFAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONAFAC is Costa Rica's national trade facilitation council chaired by COMEX. The council coordinates border integration programs, implements the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and works on improving customs procedures and border crossing efficiency.
• CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosta Rica is in the process of joining the CPTPP (Tratado Integral y Progresista de Asociación Transpacífico). CPTPP members and Costa Rica celebrated the substantive conclusion of negotiations for its incorporation into the bloc in 2026.
• EU-Central America Association Agreement (AACUE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union provides preferential market access. COMEX coordinates Costa Rica's participation in annual review meetings and manages tariff rate quotas under this agreement.
• CAFTA-DR (Free Trade Agreement Costa Rica-United States)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement with the United States is Costa Rica's most significant trade agreement. COMEX manages the implementation, tariff quotas, and dispute resolution under this agreement.
• Costa Rica-Israel Free Trade AgreementflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosta Rica and Israel signed a Free Trade Agreement in December 2025 to strengthen commercial ties in strategic sectors including technology and agriculture.
• CEPA with United Arab EmiratesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerComprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates entered into force in April 2025. COMEX coordinated the negotiation and ratification process.
• Free Trade Agreement with ChinaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Costa Rica-China Free Trade Agreement is actively implemented. COMEX coordinates the VIII Free Trade Commission meeting and manages tariff quotas including black bean imports.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PROCOMER (Promotora del Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica): Costa Rica's official trade promotion agency and the operational arm most closely aligned with COMEX. PROCOMER runs the Origin Unit for certificate-of-origin issuance, operates the Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior, manages the BTM trade fair and Encadenados matchmaking, and regional offices — directly executing COMEX's trade promotion mandate.
• CINDE (Coalición Costarricense de Iniciativas de Desarrollo): Costa Rica's investment promotion agency and core strategic ally to COMEX. CINDE jointly markets Costa Rica as an FDI destination, supports multinationals in site selection and after-care, and is the operating counterpart to COMEX's policy-setting on investment attraction.
• Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo de Colombia (MinCIT): Colombia's central ministry for trade, industry, and tourism policy. Comparable regional peer with OECD membership aspirations, a similar mix of trade-agreement management, FDI attraction, and trade facilitation responsibilities.
• SUBREI (Subsecretaría de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales de Chile): Chile's trade-policy lead under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, managing a deep FTA network and bilateral economic relations. A direct functional counterpart to COMEX, particularly given Chile's OECD membership and extensive FTA stack.
• MINCETUR (Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo del Perú): Peru's trade and tourism ministry, responsible for FTA negotiation, trade facilitation, and export promotion. Operates in a similar Pacific Alliance / regional integration context as COMEX, with a comparable scope of customs and origin-certification oversight.
• PROCHILE: Chile's official trade promotion agency and functional equivalent of PROCOMER. Closely analogous to COMEX's operational counterpart: export promotion, trade missions, and business matchmaking on behalf of national exporters under a network of FTAs.

Broad incumbents

• JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization): Japan's government-affiliated trade and investment promotion organization. Operates an FTA-aware, digital-portal-enabled trade facilitation model comparable in form to COMEX's Ventanilla Única and OECD committee-coordination role, though at much greater scale.
• Secretaría de Economía de México: Mexico's national ministry responsible for industrial, commercial, foreign trade, and investment policy. Comparable in scope and rank — a large LatAm economy's central trade and investment authority — but with a far broader industrial policy mandate that goes well beyond COMEX's foreign-trade focus.
• Enterprise Singapore: Singapore's government agency driving enterprise development, internationalization, and FDI attraction. Functionally comparable to the COMEX/PROCOMER/CINDE stack, with a similar model of government-led trade and investment promotion anchored in a network of FTAs and digital services.

Others

• UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT): UK government department responsible for trade policy, trade agreements, and inward investment promotion. A high-income, OECD-member peer whose policy-coordination role for FTAs and investment attraction mirrors COMEX's central mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comexcr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica