Signs of an economic recovery in 2010 are beginning to appear in different sectors of the Costa Rican economy.

One of the first indications of a sunnier new year was seen in the export market, as the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) announced that national exports in January totaled $727.9 million, an improvement of $133.5 million, or 22 percent, from the same month in 2009.

The news comes after overall exports fell 9 percent in 2009 from record highs in 2008.

Several export sectors experienced considerable growth in the first month of the year, including the industrial sector, which exported more than $535 million worth of goods, a 27 percent increase over January 2009. The industrial sector was boosted by a 57 percent increase in exports of food products, which brought in more than $99 million. The consistently valuable export of electronic components and microchips also opened the year with promising results, raking in $183 million, a 40 percent increase.

Of all the sectors, the increase in agricultural exports was possibly the most encouraging. In January, exports of pineapple and melon continued to shine, improving by more than 28 percent and 69 percent, respectively, in comparison to January 2009. Coffee and bananas, Costa Rica's traditional export staples, also showed signs of rebounding from a difficult 2009, when banana exports fell 15 percent and coffee over 31 percent. Exports of both products increased in January.

“The numbers indicate the possibilities for growth for the banana industry in new markets,” said Marco Vinicio Ruiz, the foreign trade minister. “These results allow us to continue with the established projections of the commercial agenda, which we expect to be favorable in the export market as we enter new markets.”

Of total exports from Costa Rica in January, 40 percent were sent to North America, 19 percent to Asia and 17 percent to the European Union. During the first two months of 2010, Costa Rica finalized free-trade agreement negotiations with Singapore and China, and this week will see the beginning of the seventh round of negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the European Union.

In comparison to last January, exports to North America grew 181 percent, rose 57 percent within Central America, increased 126 percent to the Caribbean region and jumped 76 percent to Asia.