Faces of Costa Rica

Intel-ligent Exports

Electronics exports were almost non-existent before 1998. Then Intel opened a semiconductor assembly plant, and everything changed. Agriculture became of secondary importance with the microchip giant's arrival.

Intel's plant is just five miles from the capital of San Jose. Among the items produced are Pentium IV and Intel Xeon processors. In December 2003, the company announced plans to expand, creating 600 additional local jobs. Intel currently employs 1,750 people in Costa Rica.

In addition, Colorplast, Conair, Protek, Reliability, Remec, Sawtek, and Sensortronics have also opened manufacturing plants in Costa Rica.

Electronics exports made up 46 percent of export earnings in 2002. In 1995, total exports totaled $3.5 billion, in 2002 the amount increased to $5.3 billion, largely due to the electronics industry.

"Now our principal exports are technology and tourism," said Abel Chinchilla, a San José lawyer, "We are no longer the 'banana republic,' dependent on bananas and coffee."