Although more than 140 agricultural products have access to the U.S. market, only 70 are currently shipped by local producers, which is partly explained by low production capacity and lack of quality.
According to studies conducted by Central American Business Intelligence (Cabi), Nebraska, District of Columbia, Maryland, Hawaii, Tennessee, Illinois, Mississippi, Maine, Kansas and North Dakota are the states with the greatest potential to take advantage of market opportunities.
In Guatemala, approximately 75% of agricultural enterprises have reported liquidity problems in the context of the crisis generated by covid-19.
A study conducted by the Chamber of Agriculture (Camagro) states that during May, agricultural companies recorded income losses, a situation that can be explained by the quarantine decreed and the social isolation measures.
In order for Guatemalan producers to compete under the same conditions as neighboring countries, the government is preparing a bill that seeks to exempt agricultural inputs from VAT.
The initiative, known as the "Fiscal Equity Law", is being prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Maga), because, according to the institution's top official, other Central American countries do not charge value-added tax (VAT) on agricultural inputs.
For agricultural producers, the use of precision biotechnology in Guatemala requires a specialized committee so that the authorities' decisions are based on technical and scientific evidence, and not under the influence of political or ideological interests.
Guatemala already has regulations in this area, since on October 1, 2019, the regulatory framework signed by the Ministry of Economy with its counterparts in El Salvador and Honduras came into effect.
With the beginning of the new government in Guatemala, businessmen in the agricultural sector are optimistic and believe that the priorities of the new authorities should be to guarantee property rights and improve road infrastructure.
According to a survey conducted to measure the perceptions of the members of the Chamber of Agriculture (Camagro), economic revitalization is another issue that should prioritize the work agenda of the government of Alejandro Giammattei.
To the denouncements made in recent months by businessmen from Guatemala and Nicaragua, is added that of a Honduran union, which denounces the invasion of 3,400 manzanas of productive land.
Because the area of stolen land in Guatemala has grown from about 10,000 hectares in the 1990s to 164,000 in 2018, losses in agricultural production caused by this phenomenon reached nearly $650 million last year.
The Chamber of Agriculture (Camagro) estimates that only in 2018, invasions of private property, mainly agricultural production farms, generated a negative impact equivalent to 0.6% of Gross Domestic Product.
While declining international prices and smuggling are threatening factors for agricultural production in Guatemala, planned investments in infrastructure would help reduce the costs of the sector.
Estimates by the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) detail that the agricultural Gross Domestic Product increased 2.6% in 2018, and by 2019 a 2.8% increase is expected.
To reduce production costs, the Guatemalan coffee association will implement a climate information system to provide access to more specific forecasts in coffee-growing areas.
According to the National Coffee Association (Anacafé) with the implementation of more weather stations in small coffee areas of the country, the costs of grain production could be reduced between 10% and 15%.