Entrepreneurs in the sector reported that as a result of the political crisis that has affected the country since April 18, in May and June they have seen a considerable drop in their sales, which has resulted in the interruption of their purchases abroad.

See "Hardware Stores: Business in Central America"

President of the Association of Hardware Stores of Nicaragua (Afenic), Edgar Lugo said that "... in April this sector operated quite normally and began to have problems in May that were accentuated in June. Hardware imports have gone down in relation to sales. 'You import first and sell later, imports will be affected this month. Amounts, it's difficult to say accurately now, but there are hardware dealers whose sales have dropped between 50% and more and that is serious'."

See also "Ceramic products in 2017: purchases up 7%"

Talking about this issue, Regina Vargas, manager of two hardware stores in Managua, said that " ... since the beginning of the crisis that the country is experiencing, sales have decreased considerably, therefore we find ourselves operating with the inventory that we have had for a month and have ruled out making more purchases because of the uncertainty.  'Sales have dropped 60% in both businesses, we employ 14 people and have we have suspended half; however, if the situation does not improve we will be forced to dismiss them; we have made an effort not to let them go, but sales are falling'."

In relation to the prices of construction materials, in May the Price Index registered a variation of 9% with respect to the same month in 2017, the highest recorded in the last 12 months.

Source: elnuevodiario.com.ni

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