In order to compete with pork that comes in from the US, Nicaraguan producers are seeking government support to build a food processing plant.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
As import quotas for pork from the United States increase, Nicaraguan pork producers are seeking to improve their cost structure in order to better compete with the imported product.
Marcos Umanzor, president of the new Chamber of Pork Producers of Nicaragua, said that "... they will be meeting with their counterparts in Costa Rica later this week to determine actions involving all pig farmers in the region."
According Umanzor, "... they will approach the authorities or the Ministry of Agriculture of Development, Industry and Commerce in order to identify ways that these entities can support national production. 'How can we compete with pork that comes from the United States if its cost structure is different from ours?' questioned Umanzor, who says that pork producers in that country receive incentives. 'We are going to suggest support for construction of a processing feed mill, as a chamber, having our own slaughterhouse to sell from', said the president of the Chamber, who estimates that in 2014 about 23 million hundredweight of pork will be produced ."
Despite the complex situation, pig farmers in Nicaragua estimate that they will achieve their goal of producing and marketing 13,600 tons of pork this year.
According to representatives from the Nicaraguan Chamber of Producers (Caniporc), so far this year pork consumption went down by only 1% and the value of each live animal decreased by 5%, and the reason for this is the social and political crisis that has been affecting the country for more than five months.
Entrepreneurs in the sector plan to resume sales to El Salvador and Honduras during the second half of the year, after their restriction in 2011.
In 2011, countries in the region imposed restrictions on the entry of pork from Guatemala, after detecting the presence ofClassical Swine Fever.Now, Guatemalan pork producers are preparing to resume sales in the coming months.
The growth could be driven by improvements that have been achieved in terms of technification, production management and meat processing and distribution.
Between January and October of this year, activities in the pig farmer sector registered an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2016.
Pork producers in Costa Rica are complaining that they are trying to directly export pork to Asian markets, but slaughterhouses "only want the business for themselves."
Porcicultor industry entrepreneurs are trying to open new markets, especially in countries with which Costa Rica has signed trade agreements, but are complaining that slaughterhouses have rejected their applications for processing meat, sometimes citing lack of certifications and in other cases, because " ... 'What slaughterhouses want is customers and to keep paying low prices to producers"," said the Speaker of the Chamber of Pork Producers, Renato Alvarado to Elfinancierocr.com ."
×
ok
7567Government Procurement Opportunities in the region