Following the detection of an outbreak of giant African snail in Costa Rica, in the community of Curubande in the canton of Liberia in Guanacaste, local authorities declared a National Phytosanitary Emergency.
The objective of this declaration is to prevent the spread of the plague, putting at risk the national agriculture, public health and the environment, informed the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE).
Last year, Central America assigned $784 million to fertilizer imports, 4% more than in 2019, with Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador being the markets that accounted for the increase in regional purchases.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="fertilizer"].
In the first seven months of 2020, companies in the countries of the region imported fertilizers from Mexico for $27 million, 14% less than what was reported for the same period in 2019, a decrease that can be explained by the decrease in purchases by Guatemalan and Costa Rican companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
Between the first semester of 2018 and the same period of 2019, the volume sold of fertilizers and agrochemicals fell by 13%, a decrease explained by the political crisis reported since April last year.
Figures estimated by the Association of Formulators and Distributors of Agrochemicals (Anifoda), specify that this is the second year that decreases in sales are reported, because between the first half of 2017 and the same period of 2018, the volume of fertilizer sold fell by 5%, falling from 110 thousand tons to 104 thousand tons.
From January to June of this year, countries in the region imported insecticides, herbicides and fungicides for $343 million, 2% more than in the same period in 2017.
Figures from the information system of the Central American Insecticide, Herbicide and Fungicide Market, from the Trade Intelligence Area of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
During the first half of 2018, purchases by countries in the region reached $494 million, 12% more than imports during the same period the previous year.
Figures from the information system of the Central American Fertilizer Market, from the Trade Intelligence Area at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In Nicaragua, a decrease in the amount of cultivated land and a decrease in fertilization spending have caused a fall of between 25% and 30% in the sales projected by entrepreneurs in the sector.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Nicaragua, between the first half of 2017 and the same period in 2018, imports of fertilizers and agrochemicals in the country reported a reduction of 14%, falling from $102 million to $88 million.
The average price per kilo of fertilizers imported by the Central American countries dropped from $0.54 in January 2012 to $0.27 in March 2018, registering a 50% drop.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Fertilizer Market, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
Although businessmen in the sector claim to have enough supplies to meet demand in the agricultural cycle, the crisis in Nicaragua is causing problems in the transportation of goods.
Distributors of agrochemicals report that due to the political crisis and the multiple closures and demonstrations on roads in the country, the main challenge they face is the transporting products to different areas of the country.
In 2017, countries in Central America imported $18 million worth of fertilizers from Mexico, a figure which is 61% more than what was purchased in 2016.
Figures from the information system on the the Fertilizer Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
In the first semester of 2017, Central American countries imported $439 million worth of fertilizer, 42% more than in the same period in 2016.
Figures from the information system on the Fertilizer Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
American Vanguard Corporation has announced the acquisition of Grupo Agricenter, dedicated to the production and commercialization of crop protection products in Central America.
From a statement issued by Agricenter:
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary AMVAC Netherlands BV, will acquire Grupo Agricenter to reinforce its commercial, technical and development structure in the Latin-American region. AMVAC has been a key player in the Latin American agricultural sector for more than a decade and has become a leader in the nematicides segment for crops such as banana and pineapple. The acquisition of Grupo Agricenter, a well-established distributor of multiple crop protection products in seven Central American and Caribbean countries, will considerably expand AMVAC’s product and service offerings in the region.
The agricultural chambers in the region are preparing law proposals to be presented in the Central American countries to remove the restrictions on growing GM foods.
Representatives from FECAGRO said the use of agricultural biotechnology allows for improved technology that enables high productivity seeds, reduces agrochemical use, creates more drought-resistant crops that can also be irrigated with salt water and are completely safe for human consumption.