A few days before the expiration of the crane service contract in Guatemala's Port of Santo Tomas de Castilla, local exporters expect a possible scenario of rising costs and slower operations.
The crane service contract was in force for 10 years and will expire on September 6. So far, businessmen do not know clearly what is the status of the tender, which the National Port Company Santo Tomas de Castilla (Empornac), must make to award the contract..
Some of the requirements for companies exporting food from Guatemala are that exporters guarantee good sanitary practices and that in case of an outbreak of covid-19 they notify their buyers and separate infected collaborators.
Safety and health protocols have taken off in this new trade scenario, which emerged suddenly due to the spread of covid-19 around the world.
Because Costa Rica has imposed several restrictions on the movement of goods entering its territory, the Guatemalan government announced that it will apply reciprocal measures to Costa Rican transporters from June 9.
It is estimated that by the end of 2019, Guatemalan exports registered a slight year-on-year increase of 1%; however, for this year, an increase of between 1.5% and 4% is expected.
Directors of the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) reported that the prospects for this year are more favorable, since it is expected a better performance in exports of several products, including bananas.
During the eleven months that will pass between the beginning of the exit process from the European Union and the entry into force of the association agreement with Central America, trade relations with the United Kingdom will follow the same rules that have been in place until now.
In July 2019, the negotiations of the Association Agreement with the United Kingdom were completed, which contains the mechanism to address the preferential trade relations regulated between both parties, after the process of leaving the European Union, known as BREXIT, is completed.
With the recent signing of the U.S.-Canadian-Mexican trade agreement, a precedent was set for future negotiations, as this agreement sets binding labor conditions, such as making exports subject to the payment of a minimum wage.
For example, one of the conditions of the Treaty between Mexico, United States and Canada (T-MEC), which was signed on December 10, 2019, is that vehicles exported from one state of Mexico to the other two countries "must come from plants that pay wages not less than $16 an hour.
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.
The possibility of negotiating a free trade agreement with the trade bloc of South American countries is back on the discussion.
The issue will be discussed in detail at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Economy of the region (Comieco), to be held in El Salvador on December 5 and 6.
Acisclo Valladares Urruela, Minister of Economy of Guatemala, confirmed to Prensalibre.com that "...
In the first nine months of 2019, cardamom exports grew 52% over the same period in 2018, a rise explained by global product shortages and high demand in the Middle East market.
Figures from the Bank of Guatemala state that between January and September 2018, and the same period in 2019, foreign sales of cardamom increased by $132 million, from $253 million to $385 million.
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.
Guatemalan exporters report that President Trump's warning about export tariffs and taxes on remittances and transfers is raising doubts among U.S. buyers.
Uncertainty prevails among most Guatemalan businessmen after President Trump reacted to the provisional protection established by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court, which limits the functions of the Executive Branch to negotiate or sign any foreign policy agreement.
Exporters are preparing for the new regulation that will be implemented from 2020 in the U.S. market, among which is the application of a new table of nutritional data in packaged products.
Representatives of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport) reported that both U.S. and foreign companies exporting to the U.S., must comply with new food labeling standards.
Fiscal incentives and the growing demand for technological products at a global level are factors that have favored the growth of exports of Guatemalan software development companies.
Businessmen in the sector specify that the most demanded services are software development, creation of technological applications, videogames, digital strategies for brand positioning, use of drones for studies and data analysis.
The plan to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican products entering the U.S. would open up opportunities for Central American countries to increase their sales to the U.S., but there are fears that similar measures could be taken against the region.
On May 30, President Trump announced on his Twitter account that he plans to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican products entering the U.S.
During the first three months of the year, the country exported $109 million worth of fruit, 12% less than in the same period in 2018, in part because of the closure of one of the most important companies.
Figures from the Banco de Guatemala detail that between the first quarter of 2018 and the same period of 2019, foreign sales of fresh, dried and frozen fruits decreased from $123 million to $109 million.