Costa Rica

Traditionally and historically, agriculture is the most important sector of Costa Rica economy. The large coffee plantations of the 19th century have made the sustained development of the country possible. Cane sugar and bananas also are important sectors of the national economy; then, other plantations became important such as grain, vegetables, pulses, tobacco and fruit and thus the nation has achieved autonomy. Cocoa and cotton have also developed fairly well, the former on the Atlantic coastline and the second in the north-west plains in the province of Guanacaste. In recent years there has been an intensification (now on an industrial scale) of the cultivation of flowers, especially for export. Experiments and important studies have been carried out for the exploitation of species and fruit such as apples and grapes, which grow in a fertile soil and under a benign sky. In some parts of the country there is still the craft production of vegetable fiber used in weaving, although this now constitutes a smaller market vis-à-vis the synthetic fibers which have been produced either in the country itself or imported.