A delegation of specialists and representatives from Costa Rica's forestry industry recently visited the Biobío Region to learn firsthand about the local timber offerings, industrialization processes, and sustainable construction experiences developed in Chile, as part of an agenda coordinated by ProChile and the Forestry Institute (INFOR).
The mission comprised three professionals from the Costa Rican Chamber of Forestry, Wood, and Industry (CFMI): Lovelia León Ching, a specialist in wood construction; Luis Ángel Aguilar Salas, a forestry expert; and Óscar J. Santamaría Gutiérrez, technical coordinator and expert in the wood and materials industry. They toured various companies and institutions in the region involved in the production of structural timber, industrialized housing, and high-value-added construction solutions.
The Regional Director (S) of ProChile Biobío, Paula Hormazábal, highlighted the importance of this visit for strengthening commercial ties between both countries. "Central America represents a market with interesting opportunities for the forestry and timber products from our region. Biobío has a consolidated industry that manufactures products entirely from sustainable forest plantations, with high quality and traceability standards," she stated.
In this regard, it is important to highlight the upcoming Chile Latam 2026 Business Meeting, an event to be held on August 24 and 25 in Bogotá, Colombia, which has Costa Rica and forestry sector companies among its priority focuses. During their stay, the delegation visited facilities of the Structural Timber Laboratory, companies such as Patagual Home, PREMAD, IDV Chile, CMPC Maderas, NIUFORM, VICSA Industrial, and Hilam Arauco, in addition to holding meetings with representatives from the Architecture Department of San Sebastián University and the Construction area of Federico Santa María Technical University.
The agenda had a strong technical component, as the visitors are participating in the development of Costa Rica's First National Civil Construction Code for Wood, an initiative that seeks to promote the use of this material as a sustainable alternative for construction and urban development.
Óscar J. Santamaría Gutiérrez valued the experience, noting that "Chile has successfully articulated the entire value chain of the sector, from forest management and sawmills to research, housing industrialization, and the training of specialized human capital."
Likewise, the Costa Rican representatives highlighted the progress achieved by Chile in wood construction, especially in areas such as structural grading, quality control, technological innovation, and social housing development, aspects they consider fundamental for strengthening the forestry industry in their country.
Forestry exports continue to be one of the productive pillars of the Biobío Region. Between January and May 2026, regional forestry shipments exceeded US$1.112 billion, out of a national total of US$2.193 billion.
The main destinations for forestry exports in the mentioned period are China with a 42% share, followed by the United States (16%), Mexico (5.4%), Peru (3.5%), and Japan (3.5%). In the case of Costa Rica, in the January-May period, sector shipments reached US$23 million, mainly corresponding to sawn or planed wood (US$16 million), paperboard (US$3 million), and wood panels (US$3 million).
Paula Hormazábal highlighted that "this type of visit helps generate new business opportunities, knowledge exchange, and technical cooperation, strengthening the international presence of the regional forestry industry."
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