A bill intends to extend the system of preferential interest rates on bank loans for productive activities in the agricultural sector.
From a statement issued by the Assembly of Panama:
The Agricultural Affairs Committee has been exchanging views with officials in the primary and banking sectors on a bill that establishes discounts in the interest rate of loans to local producers in the order of $500,000.
The successful 'Agro Encuentros de Guatemala' events in will be held by Agexport in May, July and September 2015 in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, in order to increase intra-regional agricultural trade.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
Aiming to promote increased export supply, diversification and development of capacity in trade negotiations for small producers in Central America in the seventeenth edition of Expo & Conference AGRITRADE AGEXPORT, Agro Encuentros Central America will be launched, an event which will be run by the AGRITRADE AGEXPORT platform.
From 3 to 7 May in Guatemala City topics will be addressed such as innovation and technology transfer in the cultivation of grains, vegetables, fruit, animal production and renewable natural resources.
The LX Annual Meeting of the Central American Cooperative Program for the Improvement of Crops and Animals will focus on the generation of technology innovation for sustainable agriculture.
Within the Economic Council of Government Luis Guillermo Solís' ministers are divided with some favoring openness to international trade, and others wanting to protect vulnerable sectors.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade, which is in favor of accession, argues that there are free trade agreements with member countries of the Alliance, meaning that they would only be strengthening commercial ties.
Little knowledge on the subject and difficulties in properly measuring the risks are some of the causes of the limited supply of this type of coverage.
Currently only one company, out of the 5 operating in the country, provides insurance for the agricultural sector. At the end of 2014, written premiums for this sector where only 0.05% of the total, ie $ 2.4 million.
From January 4th this year exports will be permitted of Australian mangos to the North American country, with focus initially being given to the premium segment.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Cffice of Costa Rica (PROCOMER):
In an alert given in November 2014 the upcoming opening of the US market for mangoes from Australia was reported.
Producers are complaining about a lack of agility and excessive paperwork in the process to request tax exemptions for the purchase of equipment and farm machinery.
Agricultural producers argue that they can not easily access the exemptions for the purchase of equipment which is established in the recently passed Tax Act. Although it has been stated that within three months the necessary reforms will be made for the exemptions to given on products and not producers, the current requirements are delaying procedures and access to the incentive on the part of the producers.
The Ministry of Development has announced a new licensing regime to import onions, which will be available only for the usual operators in the production and marketing chain.
The government of Honduras together with onion producers and importers has agreed to create a regulation on importing vegetables in order to control the activity.
Alden Rivera, head of the Ministry of Economic Development, told Latribuna.hn that "...
With the Global GAP certification that they hope to obtain this year, with 12,000 hectares of crops Mexico projects that it will increase its fruit exports to the US market.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer) :
Mexico to increase mango exports
54% of the 135,000 tonnes of mango estimated to be produced in 2015 in Michoacán (about 73,000 tons) will be for export.
Anticipating a possible decline in sales to Venezuela, employers in the agricultural sector are looking for potential buyers for their products in Chile and Peru.
After the United States, Venezuela is the main buyer of Nicaraguan products, however, with the fall in oil prices the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC) is predicting a decline in exports to the country and therefore is looking for new markets in which to sell its products.
The clearest example of how dangerous the concept of "food sovereignty" is, comes from the example of the famine that killed 14 million people in China during a failed attempt at self-sufficiency in rice production.
As pointed out in an editorial in Nacion.com, the National Development Plan put forward by the Solis administration, in the chapter "agricultural and rural development" involves a socialist vision of food production, now outdated all over the world, attempting even to raise to the rank of constitutional law the concept of food sovereignty.
From 19 to 22 November, producers and representatives of companies in the livestock sector will be showcasing their products and taking part in business meetings.
The 17th edition of the National Agricultural Fair will be held at the Parque Nacional de Ferias, south of Managua, which will showcase and market the best of cattle and horses.
Between January and September crop insurance generated premiums of $1.9 million, well below the performance of other policies, such as life, which increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2013.
According to the Guatemalan Association of Insurance Institutions (Agis), "... lack of awareness among the population to ensure their crops is one of the reasons why agricultural insurance has shown only modest growth."
Wood, seafood, coffee and frozen vegetables are some of the products already going to Asia and the aim is to promote the opening of a sales office in Hong Kong.
According to Guatemalan authorities, the main import partner is China and in exports it is Japan. In 2013 exports to Asia generated $897.7 million, however, this figure is expected to be greater by the end of 2014, as Asian demand has increased.