Market access update · Canada → Costa Rica
Canadian ornamental fish feed exports to Costa Rica: access, registration and RFQ guide
Costa Rica has approved Canada’s veterinary certificate for ornamental fish feed. The CFIA announced the new access in June 2026 and values the market at approximately $2.7–8.2 million a year. Shipments cannot start on the announcement alone: the exporting establishment and each product must meet SENASA’s registration requirements, the importer must obtain SENASA’s current import requirements, and every consignment needs CFIA certificate HA3282 with the declarations SENASA lists.
Free for buyers; suppliers fund FeedMatch. Feed purchases have no minimum — the US$250,000 minimum applies only to plant and equipment projects. No supplier, buyer, price or eligibility is claimed on this page.
Ornamental-aquaculture feed — not livestock feed
This access covers feed for ornamental fish — species kept in aquariums and ponds or bred for that trade. It does not cover feed for poultry, pigs, cattle or other livestock, feed for farmed food fish or shrimp, or fish and seafood for human consumption. Those products follow other certificates and requirements, which this page does not summarise.
Buying farmed fish or shrimp for food? Our sister platform handles that: FishMatch
Key facts and their sources
- Access
- Costa Rica has approved Canada’s veterinary certificate for ornamental fish feed (CFIA, June 2026).
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)(opens in a new tab) - Market estimate
- Approximately $2.7–8.2 million annually, as stated by the CFIA. The release describes it as a niche but growing market.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)(opens in a new tab) - Canadian certificate
- CFIA lists “Ornamental fish feed — HA3282 (2026-03-17)” for Costa Rica. CFIA says its certificates are for information only and exporters must confirm validity with their local Animal Health Office.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)(opens in a new tab) - Costa Rica requirement
- SENASA document DCA-PG-02-RS-10-IN-033 v1, in force from 24 April 2026, sets the certificate content and declarations for ornamental fish feed from Canada.
Source: SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Cuarentena Animal(opens in a new tab) - Animal-origin ingredients
- Only insects, fish, fish meal and shrimp meal. Fish ingredients must come from a facility dedicated only to fish products.
Source: SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Cuarentena Animal(opens in a new tab) - Registration basis
- Exporting establishments and exported products must comply with RTCA 65.05.52:11 (registration and control) and RTCA 65.05.63:11 (good manufacturing practice).
Source: SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Cuarentena Animal(opens in a new tab)
What the market estimate does — and does not — tell you
The $2.7–8.2 million figure is the CFIA’s own estimate of the annual market opened by the new certificate. The release does not state the currency or how the range was calculated, and FeedMatch has not checked it independently.
It is not a forecast of orders for any company, a price, or evidence that a buyer is waiting for a particular product. Treat it as context for your own market research.
Before the first shipment: registration and product review
The steps below summarise the official documents cited. Who files each application, the fees and the timing must be confirmed with SENASA and the CFIA for your product.
1. Confirm the product is in scope
The product must be ornamental fish feed. Its only animal-origin ingredients may be insects, fish, fish meal and shrimp meal, and fish ingredients must be processed in a fish-only facility.
The certificate must also declare a validated heat treatment that inactivates relevant pathogens, routine testing showing the absence of Salmonella, precautions against recontamination after treatment, and new packaging material.
2. Establishment registration
Canada: the product must be processed in a facility inspected by the CFIA. Ask your local CFIA Animal Health Office to confirm that certificate HA3282 applies to your product and is still valid.
Costa Rica: SENASA requires exporting establishments and products to comply with RTCA 65.05.52:11, the Central American regulation on registering and controlling animal-feed products and establishments. Registered establishments and products can be checked in SENASA’s DAASIRE portal.
The Costa Rican company that markets the feed also needs its own SENASA registration. That requires an operating certificate (CVO), a legal representative in Costa Rica and a technical regent (veterinarian or agronomist). An establishment registration is valid for five years.
CFIA’s export-certificate guideline sets the listing route. After the CFIA inspection, the district office confirms the establishment meets Costa Rica’s requirements. The exporter then sends the product specification sheets to the district office, which forwards them to CFIA headquarters. Exports may start only once confirmation is received that the establishment has been added to SENASA’s list of approved Canadian establishments. Renewals are the importer’s responsibility under the procedures of Costa Rica’s Animal Feed Directorate.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)(opens in a new tab)Source: SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Cuarentena Animal(opens in a new tab)Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)(opens in a new tab)Source: SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Alimentos para Animales(opens in a new tab)Source: SENASA Costa Rica(opens in a new tab)3. Product review (sanitary registration)
Each product is registered with SENASA’s Animal Feed Directorate. The file includes a guaranteed analysis, an ingredient list, the full quali-quantitative composition, analysis methods, and a process flowchart with temperatures, times and pressure. It also needs a certificate of analysis for a commercial lot, a shelf-life declaration and two draft labels for approval.
Imported products also need an official good-manufacturing-practice certificate and a Certificate of Free Sale from the origin authority (or an official statement if the product is made only for export). They also need the manufacturer’s power of attorney for the registrant, and payment of SENASA fee F.01.
Formulation details go to SENASA in the registration file. Do not publish them, and do not send confidential recipes to FeedMatch.
4. Import requirements and the certificate for each shipment
SENASA states that IN-033 is a guide, not an import authorisation. The importer must request the latest requirements, which can change without notice.
The CFIA-issued certificate must be in Spanish or English. It must show the product description, species of origin, lot or production code, quantity, weight, manufacture and expiry dates, the exporter, the importer, and the producing establishment with its registration number if it has one. It must also give the container and seal numbers, the port of embarkation and the port of entry.
5. Commercial and delivery terms
Agree the Incoterm and place, port of entry, packaging, delivery schedule and lot documents in writing. Check the requirements again before each shipment, because both authorities can update them.
Regulatory status on FeedMatch
Access is confirmed by the CFIA. Whether a specific establishment or product is eligible is decided case by case by the authorities. Regulatory check required before supplier outreach or shipment. FeedMatch is not a manufacturer, importer, exporter, seller or regulatory approver, and this page is general information, not legal advice.
Costa Rica buyer RFQ: ornamental fish feed from Canada
For importers, distributors, retailers and ornamental fish farms receiving feed in Costa Rica. Describe what you need; the FeedMatch team reviews it before contacting any supplier. Write “unknown” where you have no answer yet.
Questions about this market access
Is this the same as exporting livestock feed to Costa Rica?
No. The CFIA access and SENASA document IN-033 cover ornamental fish feed only. Livestock feed, feed for farmed food fish or shrimp, and seafood for human consumption have their own certificates and requirements.
How large is the Costa Rican ornamental fish feed market?
The CFIA estimates the new market at approximately $2.7–8.2 million a year. The release does not state the currency or the method, and FeedMatch has not verified the figure. It is not a forecast of orders for any company.
Can a Canadian exporter ship as soon as the access was announced?
No. SENASA’s registration requirements for the exporting establishment and the product must be met. The importer must obtain SENASA’s current import requirements, and the CFIA must issue certificate HA3282 for each consignment, with the declarations SENASA lists.
Which animal-origin ingredients are allowed?
According to SENASA IN-033, only insects, fish, fish meal and shrimp meal. Fish ingredients must come from a facility dedicated only to fish products, and the product must be heat treated with a validated process and routinely tested for the absence of Salmonella.
Does FeedMatch register exporters or supply the feed?
No. FeedMatch does not manufacture, import, export, register or approve products. It reviews buyer requirements, then contacts suitable suppliers and presents their responses. Buyers use FeedMatch free, and feed purchases have no minimum.
Sources
- Government of Canada secures new and expanded market access for Canadian fish, seafood and aquatic products (news release) — Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). News release, June 2026; page modified 8 June 2026.
- Pet food: animal health certificates for export — Costa Rica, ornamental fish feed, HA3282 — Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Certificate HA3282 dated 17 March 2026; page modified 19 October 2026.
- Guideline for preparing export certificates — Costa Rica note and ornamental fish feed (HA3282) — Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Page modified 3 July 2026.
- DCA-PG-02-RS-10-IN-033 v1 — Requirements for importing ornamental fish feed from Canada (PDF, Spanish/English) — SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Cuarentena Animal. In force from 24 April 2026; posted 8 June 2026.
- DAA-PG-02-IN-01 — Requirements for the sanitary registration of animal-feed products (PDF, Spanish) — SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Alimentos para Animales. In force from 1 July 2021.
- DAA-PG-01-IN-01 — Requirements for registering animal-feed establishments (PDF, Spanish) — SENASA Costa Rica — Dirección de Alimentos para Animales. Version 02, in force from 1 July 2021.
- DAASIRE — official consultation of registered establishments and products — SENASA Costa Rica. Portal referenced in IN-033 §6.2; reachable 25 October 2026.
Official sources read and summarised on 25 October 2026. Requirements can change; always use the current official version.
How the request is handled
Your brief is saved only after you give consent in the form. The team checks scope and regulatory status before contacting any supplier, then presents responses through FeedMatch. Buyers are not handed directly to suppliers. Quotes, registration outcomes and delivery dates are never guaranteed.
Prepare a Costa Rica RFQ