Panama's Ministry of Housing requires different supplies to improve abandoned properties in deplorable conditions in the provinces of Chorrillo, Santa Ana and Calidonia.
Panama Government Purchase 2021-0-14-0-08-08-LP-018752:
"The bidding will be on a lump sum basis to obtain the 127 various supplies needed to make improvements to abandoned properties in poor condition in Chorrillo, Santa Ana and Calidonia. Some of the supplies are as follows:
In recent years, cement from Vietnam has gained importance in terms of amount purchased, as in 2016 it represented just 0.01% of total regional imports and in 2020 it became the main supplier, as the share went up to 32%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In recent years, cement from Vietnam has gained importance in terms of the amount purchased, as from January to September 2018 they represented 10% of total regional imports and for the same period in 2020 the proportion rose to 30%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
During 2020, it is estimated that the average price of a ton of steel increased 19%, a rise that impacts the construction industry and is explained by the increase in logistics costs and the suspension of the extraction of the material due to the outbreak of covid-19.
Central American businessmen report that during last year, which was marked by the sanitary and economic crisis, the average price per ton of steel increased by $130, going from $670 to $800.
Because several construction projects were stopped due to the pandemic, residential remodeling work became an important source of income for hardware stores competing in the Costa Rican market.
The spread of covid-19 forced the Costa Rican authorities to impose restrictions on productive activities, one of which was construction, a sector that paralyzed several investments being made in 2020.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were the Central American markets that increased their hydraulic cement imports in the first half of 2020 in year-on-year terms.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
During the first quarter of 2020, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $48 million, and purchases from Turkey increased 154% compared to the same period in 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
In Costa Rica, the price indexes of buildings and social housing registered in the seventh month of the year, year-on-year variations of -1.07% and -0.81%, respectively.
From the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
The construction price indexes based on February 2012 are a set of twenty statistical indicators, which measure the variation in the prices of materials used in the construction of different types of works.
The Novex chain of hardware stores opened its first branch in the country, which has an area of 3,000 square meters and is located in Curridabat, east of San José.
The new store that belongs to it is specifically located 250 meters east of the bomb La Galera, on the old road to Tres Rios, and has 20 departments that include construction materials, household items, pets, gardening, vehicles, painting, among others.
The potential business of these establishments can be assessed by estimating the number of people living in the surrounding area, their socio-demographic characteristics, their consumption capacity and the type of products they are interested in.
Measuring the potential of micro markets, based on the evaluation of a business environment and its comparison with similar sales points, is essential for designing appropriate commercial strategies or deciding where to open a new store.
Hardware store sales in Central America are projected to register a considerable drop, which would be mainly due to the expected decline in retail sales of paints.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering different scenarios for the coming months.
The impact of the covid19 crisis on the construction sector in Central America is expected to be explained, to a greater extent, by the expected fall in the business of prefabricated steel structures.
In Costa Rica, the price indexes of buildings and social housing registered in the second month of the year, year-on-year variations of -0.90% and -0.89%, respectively.
From the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
The construction price indexes based on February 2012 are a set of twenty statistical indicators, which measure the variation in the prices of materials used in the construction of different types of works.
The Legislative Assembly approved in second debate a bill that aims to tax in the country the sale and self-consumption of imported or locally produced cement.
The initiative, which was approved in the first debate in the Assembly in mid-February and is still pending approval by the Executive Branch, establishes that the tax will be on imported cement produced nationally, in bags or in bulk, for sale or self-consumption, of any kind, whose destination is the consumption and marketing of the product nationally.
The Assembly approved in first debate a bill that seeks to tax the sale and self-consumption of cement that is imported or locally produced.
The initiative establishes that the tax will be on cement imported and produced nationally, in bags or in bulk, for sale or self-consumption, of any kind, whose destination is the consumption and marketing of the product at the national level, reported the Legislative Assembly.