Costa Rica doubled its pet food (dog and cat) imports in the last five years.

These foreign purchases rose from US$37.4 million in 2018 to US$80 million in 2023.

The cumulative increase in that five-year period was 114%, according to data from Procomer and the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

Global Affairs Canada highlighted that the market for pet food imports (including farm animals) to Costa Rica represents an opportunity for Canadian exporting companies.

“It is a growing market. Sixty percent of Costa Ricans have a pet and care for it properly, and it is common for them to make specialized feeding and frequent visits to the veterinarian,” said in a briefing paper.

Pet food imports

According to Universal Corporation, the global pet food market size exceeded $100 billion by 2023. 

From their perspective, with the increasing redefinition of the term “family” to include pets, there are growing opportunities within the market. 

As such, Universal Corporation believes that consumers will value human-grade ingredients and healthy, gourmet offerings for their pets. 

The company added that its platform is well positioned to take advantage of the growing end-market demand for pet food, as well as other natural and clean-label products in the end markets it serves.

Exporters to Costa Rica

Costa Rica is part of a growing global trend in pet food consumption.

Costa Rican imports of dog and cat food, in millions of dollars, are shown below:

• 2018: 37.4.
• 2019: 44.4.
• 2020: 55.8.
• 2021: 72.1.
• 2022: 78.6.
• 2023: 80.0.

The largest exporter of these products to the Costa Rican market in 2023 was the United States, with 33.2 million dollars.

This was followed by Mexico ($25.1 million), Honduras ($14.7 million), Brazil ($2.1 million) and Canada ($2.0 million).

Freshpet Inc. believes that pet food spending in North America will continue to increase. 

The pet food market has shown resilience in recent years, as consumers continue to spend on their pets even during economic downturns.