On June 18 a business negotiations will be held between companies and buyers in the agricultural sector in the department of Solola.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association:
In order to promote trade between organized producers and exporters to increase the exportable agricultural supply in Guatemala, the Agricultural platform AGRITRADE at AGEXPORT supported by the National Endowment for the Revitalization and Modernization of Agricultural Activity (FONAGRO) at the MAGA will be holding it first Rural Agro meeting of the year on the 18th of June at the Hotel Jardines del Lago Panajachel, Solola.
Exporters claim that the Ministry of Finance takes up to 10 months to give credit notes for tax refunds, accumulating a debt of $70 million.
To date the Ministry of Finance has issued $41 million in Treasury credit notes (NCTP) to pay off part of the debt. However, representatives from the Corporation of Exporters of El Salvador (Coexport) state that this type of payment represents a loss for exporters, as NCTP's can be sold but wat a discount of up to 5%.
In El Salvador the export sector claims that delays of up to nine months are being reported on tax refunds due from the Treasury, which should take no more than 30 days.
Seven months ago the Exporters Corporation of El Salvador (Coexport) submitted to the Ministry of Finance a proposal for self-assessment of Value Added Tax (VAT) with the aim of reducing the time it takes to receive tax refunds.
The union of exporters is preparing a meeting for May with Colombian and Guatemalan companies to look at opportunities offered by the FTA signed between the two countries.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport):
Under the framework of the Export Council for Mesoamerica and the Caribbean at AGEXPORT, the Department of Trade Promotion and ProColombia, held a meeting to organize a major event for next May.
The Ministry of Labor has announced that as of January 1, 2015 a 5% increase in minimum wages in the productive sectors will come into force.
From a statement issued by the Government of Guatemala:
The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare (MTPS), Carlos Contreras, reported that the minimum wages for 2015, corresponding to agricultural, farm, maquila and non-agriculture sectors will increase by 5%, which is the third consecutive increase recorded during the administration of President Otto Perez Molina.
The livestock sector attributes the reduction in sales in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period of 2013, to increased smuggling.
Some 39,800 cattle were exported up to the month of September, according to reports from the Central Bank of Nicaragua. This amount reflects a decline in sales compared to September 2013 when 56,000 heads were exported.
The WTO has ruled that the price band which Peru applies to imports of sugar, rice, corn and dairy products is inconsistent with the organization's trade rules.
From a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO):
"... The recommendations and rulings made by the Dispute Settlement Body aim to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the matter in accordance with the rights and obligations under this Understanding and the covered agreements.
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.
Between January and August 2014 sales to Guatemala and Honduras rose by 6.4% and 4.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
In the first eight months of the year total exports from Costa Rica amounted to $7,842.5 million, just 1.77% more than in the same period last year. Sales to Central America increased by 0.1%, while Guatemala and Honduras were the destinations which reported the highest growth.
Exporters from Costa Rica and buyers from Europe, Asia and North America will meet from 23 to 25 September at the XVI edition of the Buyers Trade Mission.
Taken from Btmcr.com:
Overview of Buyers Trade Mission 2014:
The BTM 16th edition will be held from 23 to 25 September 2014 at the Wyndham Hotel Herradura, San Jose, Costa Rica.
The event will feature the participation of at least 200 international companies who together with about 317 Costa Rican companies, using various tools such as business agendas, exhibition stands, conferences and also a showroom (on products and technology from the fresh sector in Costa Rica).
The Ministry of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica has created a new unit to "support local companies engaged in exports or who have the potential to do so."
EDITORIAL
The question that immediately arises is how this "support" to companies with export potential will be given since it is already well established that official "consultants" who populate the offices of the new unit, do not know how "to be entrepreneurs," but merely how to receive their salaries on time every month, regardless of the fate of companies that they "support":
Up to August 31, 2014 the total amount exported was $1.859 million, 8.04% more than the $1.721 million generated in the same month in 2013.
Regarding the volume of exports, up to August 2014, the Center for Exports (CETREX) reported 1.36 million metric tons, 12.9% more than the 1.20 million metric tons sold in the same month in 2013.
On September 26th and 27th producers and exporters will participate in business roundtables in the fourteenth edition of the international trade fair in Managua.
The Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (Apen) is organizing the event with the participation of companies in the sectors of Agriculture, Food, Communication Technology, Tourism and Services.
The fall in international prices and overproduction is negatively impacting sales of the seed harvested in Nicaragua.
In the U.S. market a quintal of chia is trading at $170 whereas it previously traded for $280. During the 2013-2014 cycle Nicaraguan growers harvested about 180,000 quintals, however, much of this crop had no advance purchase contracts and contractual undertakings from exporters are full.