From January to November 2019, companies in the countries of the region imported $35 million in fertilizers from Mexico, and 83% were bought by Guatemalan companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
Subscriptions: Regional Purchases up to March 2019
In the first three months of 2019, fertilizer purchases by countries in the region totaled $189 million, 7% more than reported imports in the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Last year, fertilizer purchases by countries in the region totaled $806 million, 6% more than what was reported in 2017, a rise explained by an increase in the average price of imports.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Companies in the region can submit their applications for new labels according to the new Central American Regulation on Pesticide Labeling until December 20, 2020.
The regulation amendment came into force at the end of 2018, and stipulates that after the authorities approve the changes to product labeling, companies will have one more year to exhaust the existence of previous labels in the market.
During the first nine months of 2018, companies in the region's countries imported from Mexico fertilizers for $70 million, 629% more than what was purchased in the same period of 2017.
Figures from the information system of the Central American Fertilizer 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"]
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"]
In 2017, purchases from Central American countries totaled $759 million, 25% more than the previous year's imports, in contrast to the fall reported between 2015 and 2016.
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"]
Within the legislation on waste which has now been amended by the UN, thirteen new pesticides have been included, among them herbicides such as acetochlor and flumioxazine.
The UN "Codex Alimentarius" Commission reviewed and approved the new maximum allowable limits for residues of 31 pesticides in various foods.
From December 2016 the Asian country will prevent the entry of agricultural products containing any residues of agrochemicals.
From a statement issued by the State Phytosanitary Service in Costa Rica:
SFE authorities have communicated to exporters of unprocessed plant products destined for Korea, that this nation has established a new legislation on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) of pesticides.
In Nicaragua for every cultivated hectare, 39 kilos of fertilizer are used, in Panama the figure is 50 kilos, in Honduras, 58, in Guatemala, 97, in El Salvador, 135, and in Costa Rica, 264 kilos.
The study "State of the Global Food and Agriculture", by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), details not only the use of fertilizer per hectare in Central America, but also the proportion of the value added in agriculture in each country.
Farmers have denounced the fact that half of the investment needed for cultivation goes towards agrochemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and compost.
Despite the complaints from producers, who state that distributors of agrochemicals receive "... financing of up to 60% of what they sell to producers", who have to pay after selling their crops, the "...
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012.
ECLAC, FAO and IICA press release:
San Jose, Costa Rica, October 21 (ECLAC/FAO/IICA). Despite the current context of volatility and high food prices, in the long term, the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by having available land - albeit concentrated in a few countries- a relative abundance of water, biodiversity and well-educated human resources.
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012.
ECLAC, FAO and IICA press release:
San Jose, Costa Rica, October 21 (ECLAC/FAO/IICA). Despite the current context of volatility and high food prices, in the long term, the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by having available land - albeit concentrated in a few countries- a relative abundance of water, biodiversity and well-educated human resources.