In 2015 a 15% increase in the volume of milk exported offset the fall in international prices of meat and the recurring problem of smuggling in the sector.
Although meat is still the leading export sector in Nicaragua, the country's foreign exchange earnings fell by 1.6%, going from $474.8 million in 2014 to $467 million in 2015. This information was disclosed by the Nicaraguan Chamber of Beef Exporting Plants (Canicarne).
The union of producers and exporters estimates the manual for interpretation of the rules for cattle and sheep will be ready in November this year.
From a statement issued by the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN):
The Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN) will start preparing, on 10 July, the guide for interpretation of the rules for cattle and sheep, known as Globalgap, said Azucena Castillo, general manager of the association. "We have set a meeting to begin work on developing guidance for the interpretation of the standard for cattle and sheep. In this meeting we will introduce the topic and explain the procedure established by Globalgap" Castillo said.
Canicarne is demanding the repeal of the decree which establishes a fixed price of $250 for cattle weighing between 250 and 350 kilos, which favors the export of live cattle.
According to the Nicaraguan Chamber of Beef Exports (Canicarne), slaughterhouses are working at half capacity and demanding the repeal of the interministerial Mific-Magfor Decree 027-2007, believing that it encourages tax evasion in live cattle exports.
The growth of food exports to Venezuela has got Nicaraguan producers excited, yet they are warning against backing this market excessively.
"Between January and May of this year, exports by volume from Nicaragua to Venezuela have grown by 209%, generating an exporter enthusiasm which has convinced all of the productive sectors, especially now that there are plans to halve red bean production over five years in order to plant more black beans", reported Laprensa.com.ni
They warn that if domestic prices are not adjusted and there is no guarantee to maintain the value of the local currency, they will not sell their cattle to local slaughterhouses.
Alvaro Fiallos, president of the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), is demanding that slaughterhouses adjust the price which has been kept frozen since late May last year at $2.97 per kilo in hot weight, and that they recognize the maintenance of the value of the cordoba.
Industrialists have denounced sub invoicing in the sale of live cattle in Guatemala, as a fraudulent method of getting subsidies.
From an interview in Elnuevodiario.com by Leslie Nicholas Lacayo with Alfredo Marín, vice president of the Chamber of Industries of Nicaragua, who explains the causes of the decline in exports to Venezuela, a major beef market:
Entrepreneurs in the meat industry believe that the increase in exports of live cattle will affect the future of the herd.
"The industry's concern is that Guatemala has already imported 3437 tonnes of cattle, where a large amount of the animals have not met the technical criteria set out in the Ministerial Decree number 027-2007, issued in September 2007 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Magfor) and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade (Mific)", reported Laprensa.com.
During 2012 exports of live cattle amounted to 5,200 heads, a marked improvement on 2011 when only 85 were exported.
The meat trade totaled 5,600 tonnes as opposed to the 5220 tons reported in 2011, according to figures from the National Cattlemen's Association (Anagan).
According to Euclides Diaz, secretary at Anagan, the main market for Panamanian meat was Taiwan, to which it sends about 50% of its exports, while Costa Rica absorbs exports of live cattle for fattening.
The Nicaraguan Livestock Federation wants the price of cattle sold to slaughterhouses to be set in dollars.
According to an article in Laprensa.com.ni, farmers have requested slaughterhouses to "dollarize the purchase price of livestock or recognize the slide in the value of the currency (five percent annually), as it triggers losses of $8 to $ 10 per cow.
In order to renew a trade agreement that expires at the end of September, Nicaraguan farmers are asking for a 20% increase in the price of meat exported to Venezuela.
The price of beef exported by Nicaragua to Venezuela under the current agreement is $4,300 a tonne, a figure that farmers want raised to $5,160, a 20% increase.
Solon Guerrero, President of the Federation of Livestock of Nicaragua, FAGANIC, conditioned the signing of a new agreement on the price adjustment.
In Nicaragua, much less livestock is being exported that a few years ago, as it is now sold for fattening or directly to exporting slaughterhouses.
In the past 5 years, exports of live cattle have fallen sharply, with 2011 closing at $20.5 million, from a peak of $41 million in 2007.
According to René Blandón, president of the National Livestock Commission (CONAGAN), this is better for the country, because by selling cattle to slaughterhouses and exporting meat, more value is added to the product.
The country is claiming to be free of the disease known as ‘Mad Cow Syndrome’.
Government representatives have asked the Animal Health Agency to grant the country a rating of "negligible risk" for the disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), known as ‘Mad Cow Disease’.
In Central America the only country with this classification is Panama. In the rest of the region, countries like the United States and Mexico hold the category of ‘controlled risk’.
Authorities are negotiating better conditions for cattle entering Mexico from Central America.
Representatives from the International Regional Organization for Animal Health (OIRSA), are in negotiations with Mexican authorities to promote the sale of live cattle from Central America.
This includes improving the facilities that exist at some border points, such as Ciudad Pedro de Alvarado, El Salvador, and Agua Caliente, Honduras.
They argue that they must ensure there is enough cattle before building new slaughterhouses.
Representatives from the cattle industry responded to Albalinisa’s proposal of building two new slaughterhouses explaining that the focus must be first set on solving some of the issues which limit the sector’s productivity.
Specifically, they argue that even though they require additional slaughterhouses, they must first ensure there is enough cattle to supply them.
Meat processing plants foresee slaughtering 250,000 more cattle by 2014, a 38% increase.
Onel Pérez, president of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Beef Exporters (Canicarne), noted that they expect to slaughter 650,000 animals in 2010, out of a maximum capacity of 1.1 million in the country's 4 processing plants.
Pérez remarked that 'certified slaughterhouses have made considerable investments to handle the expected increase'.