During the first half of 2019, exports from Central America of palm oil and its fractions reached $333 million, and sales to companies in Spain increased by 93% compared to the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
The government decreed that starting January 1, 2020, banana exporters in Costa Rica will pay local producers a minimum price of $8.36 per 18.14 kilo box.
The authorized increase will be $0.67 per box of 18.14 kilos, from $7.69 to $8.36 for each package sold abroad, reported the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).
From January to June 2019 Central American exports of vegetables totaled $105 million, 5% more than what was reported in the same period in 2018, a rise explained by the behavior of sales to companies in the United States.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
The increase to $135 of the international price of the quintal is promising for the coffee sector, since in recent years producers have gone through severe crises because of the fall in the price of the grain.
According to figures from Bloomberg Markets, between mid-November and the first week of December the price of a quintal of coffee at the international level registered an important upturn, going from $100 to $135.
During 2018, sales of packaged foods in the United Kingdom exceeded $84 billion, and 36% corresponded to private label products, which have quickly entered this market.
The study "Trends and requirements of private label buyers in the food sector in the United Kingdom", prepared by Procomer Costa Rica, indicates that the United Kingdom stands out as the second country in Europe with greater penetration of private label.
Guatemalan producers reported that for the 2018-2019 harvest, exports to these Asian markets gained importance, as Malaysia was sold 103,000 quintals of green coffee and 80,000 to China.
Figures from the National Coffee Association (Anacafe), specify that for the 2018-2019 agricultural cycle the export of coffee was 4.6 million quintals gold and generated a foreign exchange income of $663 million.
Between June 2018 and the same month in 2019, the average price of Central American rice imports has reported a downward trend, from $0.43 to $0.34 per kilo.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
Natural or legal persons who wish to register as exporters with the Honduran Coffee Institute will no longer have to comply with the requirement to prove a minimum share capital of $1 million.
Directors of the Honduran Coffee Institute (Ihcafe) reported that the market commission had been managing the proposal since 2018, which was already approved by the National Coffee Council (Conacafé).
In the first six months of 2019, Central American companies recorded $590 million in banana exports, and sales to the Netherlands grew 36% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first quarter of 2019, the countries of the region imported 31,943 tons of candies, chocolates and other cocoa-based preparations, a volume 6% higher than that reported during the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first three months of 2019, Central American countries exported $251 million worth of pineapple, and sales to Spanish companies increased 12% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
The coffee growers' guild signed an agreement with the Guatemalan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote local production in the European country.
Directors of the National Coffee Association (Anacafé) explained that the agreement will facilitate the coordination of actions for the promotion and export of coffee from Guatemala to Germany, such as the generation of direct links between producers and buyers.
In October, the company Frutas Tropicales de Guatemala made the first shipment of Chinese peas and sweet peas to the Russian market.
This is the first shipment of fresh vegetables from Guatemala to the Russian market.
Directors of the company explained that the first shipment of peas was made indirectly, as it was made through Dutch and French companies, but in the short term they intend to establish direct relations with Russian distributors.
During the first three months of the year, coffee exports from Central American countries totaled $747 million, 17% less than what was reported for the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]