After the Costa Rican government announced that they are evaluating the option of lifting as of March the sanitary measure that restricts the free circulation of vehicles on weekends, the trade union of the commercial sector considers that this would be a great relief for the economy.
On Sunday night, the government informed that it is analyzing the elimination of the traffic restriction applied on weekends.
Although in Costa Rica during December 2020 most businesses increased their sales by about 10%, the expectations of the sector's entrepreneurs for the first quarter of 2021 are still uncertain.
The year 2020 was marked by an economic crisis, which was generated by the outbreak of covid-19 at a global level. In this context, the Costa Rican commercial sector managed to oxygenate its finances with the end of the year celebrations.
In the context of the economic crisis that Costa Rica is going through due to the pandemic, businessmen from the commercial sector reported that the "Black Friday" sales of 2020 were similar to those of 2019.
Despite the drop in commercial activity generated by the covid-19 outbreak, executives of the Chamber of Commerce reported that sales reached an acceptable level, which can be explained, in part, by the commercial strategies applied by the establishments.
A bill is being considered in Costa Rica that proposes to identify each container of this type of beverage with a device, label or sticker in order to prevent smuggling, a measure that, according to business people, would not be effective.
In Costa Rica, the Chamber of Commerce opposes the agreement signed between the rice sector and the government, which maintains the fixing of the price and the 35% tariff on grain imports.
The decision was made on August 23rd in the framework of the meeting in which the National Production Council (CNP), the National Rice Corporation (CONARROZ) and the Ministries of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) and Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) participated.
At the height of the pandemic and economic crisis, the Costa Rican president announced, on a national chain, an economic recovery plan with no clear direction, no assigned leaders and no concrete actions.
In the message broadcast on the night of July 12, President Carlos Alvarado vaguely explained part of the plan to be adopted to overcome the health and economic crisis generated by the spread of covid-19.
Allowing import, export and transit processes to be carried out efficiently is the recommendation of the region's businessmen to avoid product shortages in the regional market.
For the Federation of Chambers and Industrial Associations of Central America and the Dominican Republic (Fecaica), governments should continue to take the measures considered necessary so that the cases detected so far do not continue to multiply, or at least, the contagion curve can be minimized, taking actions such as activating and expanding emergency response mechanisms and informing the population about the risks and ways to protect themselves.
In Costa Rica, the business sector is opposed to a proposed law that would give Icafé the power to impose requirements and controls on the processes of supplying the raw material necessary for grain production.
In Costa Rica, businessmen in the sector do not clearly see what the economic direction of the country will be, since the levels of unemployment and informality in small and medium enterprises are still rising.
The proportion of unemployed people in the country closed 2019 upwards, as between the third and fourth quarters of 2019 the open unemployment rate rose from 11.4% to 12.4%, an increase that can be explained partly by the rise in women's unemployment.
With the election of Alvaro Saenz Saborío as the new president of UCCAEP, the Chamber of Industries and the Chamber of Banana Growers decided to return to the largest business association in Costa Rica.
In the last two years, the number of jobs generated by companies in this sector has fallen 7%, because of the slowdown in the country's economic activity.
According to information from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), between the second quarter of 2017 and the same period of 2019, the number of jobs in the commercial sector was reduced by 28,621, from 386,597 to 357,976.
In Costa Rica, it is estimated that illegal trade mobilizes around $1.230 million per year, which is equivalent to 7% of household consumption.
According to a study by the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce's (CCCR) Illicit Trade Observatory, the products most affected by smuggling are cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, spare parts for vehicles, clothing, pharmaceuticals and medicines.
In Costa Rica, the Central Bank predicted that confidence would again prevail among businessmen and consumers once the tax reform was approved, but that has not been the case.
In December 2018, after a year of proceedings in Congress and after having been reviewed in the constitutional instance, was approved by the Assembly of the country the file that corresponded to the Law of Strengthening Public Finances.
Businessmen from the commercial sector in Costa Rica expect for the Christmas season a sales behavior like that seen during the Black Friday Weekend.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, the moderate growth of the commercial sector is the result of the uncertainty and economic slowdown that the country is going through, in addition to the increases in interest rates and the exchange rate.
The fall in the automobile and construction materials sales was determinant in the increase of only 1.6%, which is forecast to close the year by companies in the commercial sector in Costa Rica.
Representatives of the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce (CCCR) reported that expected growth for this year will be only 1.6%, significantly below the 3% average annual increases that have been reported in previous years.